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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. In what city did Wanda and her parents live?

2. What two items does Wanda repair for Margaret while in her house for an interview to be her roommate?

3. Where does Stephen draw a picture of Margaret in chapter 5?

4. Why does Wanda resist Troy's advances in chapter 16?

5. How many columns of Hughes does Margaret find in the phone book, suggesting the trouble Gus McPherson had finding her number?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Daniel Hughes killed? What happens to Margaret in the aftermath of his death?

2. Why do Margaret and Wanda begin breaking plates in chapter 13? What is the purpose?

3. What brought Wanda to Seattle? Why?

4. Why does Margaret go to the Hotel Orleans in chapter 10? Who does she meet there?

5. What was life like for Wanda when she lived with the Schultz family?

6. Who does Wanda see on the street in front of a vintage record store? What happens after she sees this person?

7. Who is the first respondent to Margaret's ad for a roommate? Why does Margaret like this first respondent?

8. Why does Margaret insist on allow Wanda to use her car? Why does Wanda hesitate?

9. What role does Stephen play in Margaret's life now that the two are divorced?

10. For what reason does Margaret decide to invite another person to live in her house? What is this new roommate's profession?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Who is Detective Tink Lorenzini? Why does Wanda insist on taking on this persona? For what purpose? Who is Troy? How does Troy react to Wanda's desire to find Peter? Why does Wanda rush across the street in chapter 16? Who did she think she saw? Who did she really see? What happens to Wanda? Why does she refuse to speak after her recovery has begun? What does this say about Wanda's state of mind? How does this impact the people around her?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss one of the following in detail, using quotes from the novel to support your conclusions:

1) Themes that appear in the plot, including friendship, grief, mortality, and family.

2) Character relationships, including an analysis of how they impact character motivation, how they change with time, and how characters change with changing relationships.

3) The use of the authorial voice in the narration of the novel, as well as the chosen point of view of the novel.

Essay Topic 3

What does Margaret tell Wanda about the collection her father built during World War II? What proof does Margaret have to back up her story? How does Wanda react to this story? How does Margaret feel about this story? What is Margaret's initial reaction to these items? How does this story help Wanda make the decision to begin speaking again and to become a part of Margaret's household again? What does Margaret begin doing with the shards of the broken items? How does this change the lives of everyone in Margaret's house?

(see the answer keys)

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