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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 pain medication is their mother taking?

2. Who was with their mother the last few days before she died?

3. For what event has the narrator obtained an invitation?

4. Where does the narrator wake up in the morning?

5. What suspicion does the narrator accidentally give the bartender?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens when the narrator and Amanda speak?

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

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

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

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

6. What does the reader learn about Megan's past?

7. What job does Michael offer to the narrator, and what are the implications of this job?

8. Why is it ironic that the narrator snorts cocaine behind the library?

9. Explain Vicky's concept of "ineffability."

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the narrator's elitism.

1) How has the narrator's love of fiction contributed to this elitism? Why does he feel he must alter the truth about his job to strangers?

2) Why is the narrator so concerned with being "in" rather than "out"? How much of this fear drives his friendship with Tad Allagash?

3) Could his need to be one of the elite have contributed to his relationship with Amanda? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

Though brothers, the narrator and Michael are very different people. Compare and contrast Michael and the narrator, focusing specifically on their careers and stations in life. Why are they resentful toward one another? Why has Michael come to New York? Why has the narrator stayed away from home?

(see the answer keys)

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