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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the narrator want from Amanda?

2. In fifty years, how many retractions has the magazine printed?

3. Why does the narrator think he reacted so badly to Amanda's departure?

4. Before implementing his plan, what does the narrator compare himself to?

5. What does the narrator discover in an envelope in his desk?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is a home-cooked meal such a novelty for the narrator?

2. What elements of the fashion show does the narrator find contemptuous?

3. Why does the narrator call Vicky after the party?

4. Why does the narrator go to the party with Tad?

5. Why does Megan invite the narrator to dinner at her apartment?

6. What does the narrator remember the most about Amanda, though he cannot remember what she looks like?

7. What stunt is the narrator planning to pull at the fashion show?

8. What does Michael theorize may have spurred the narrator to marry Amanda?

9. What kind of relationship did the narrator have with his mother?

10. What is the significance of the rolls of bread?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain Vicky's concept of "ineffability." How is this concept appropriate for the narrator's view of his life and the people in it? How is Vicky an appropriate mate for the narrator, whereas Amanda was not?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the use of bread as a symbol in the text.

1) What does bread symbolize? What is the connection between bread and the narrator's mother?

2) How does the narrator react to bread in differences places in the novel?

3) How does bread bring him absolution in the final stages of the novel?

Essay Topic 3

The narrator and Amanda were obviously mismatched.

1) How is the narrator's love of fiction detrimental to his relationship with Amanda?

2) What fantasies do the narrator and Amanda make of each other?

3) Though Amanda is portrayed as the shallower character, she is the one to end their fantasy. What does this imply about Amanda?

(see the answer keys)

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