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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. How does the narrator clean out his desk?

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

3. What note does the narrator leave for Megan?

4. Who does the narrator's mother see just before she dies?

5. With whom does the narrator make a lunch date for the next day?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is the narrator unsettled by the absence of Amanda's mannequin?

2. How does Michael's reappearance change the narrator's demeanor?

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

4. Why does Michael say he never liked Amanda?

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

6. Why does the narrator leap out of the limo to escape his conversation with Bernie, the drug lord?

7. What happens when the narrator and Amanda speak?

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the conflicts between the narrator's perceived inner self and his outer persona.

1) Who does he really think he is inside?

2) Why is he so reliant on Allagash and the status of his New York social life?

3) How does his job fit into that image?

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

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?

(see the answer keys)

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