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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 two rooms did the only girl in the Schultz family have all to herself?

2. What two attributes does Wanda assign to Margaret that gives her great comfort?

3. What does Margaret have a strong impulse to call the valet at the Hotel Orleans?

4. Who features prominently in Margaret's dream in chapter 17?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. What brought Wanda to Seattle? Why?

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

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

4. Who does Margaret take to the opening night of Wanda's play? What does Margaret give to Wanda after the play is over?

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

6. What does Margaret think she hears Wanda doing in the bathroom during their initial interview? Why does Wanda do this?

7. What is significant about the day Margaret's mother died? What happens to Margaret in the aftermath of her mother's death?

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

9. What causes the decline of Stephen and Margaret's marriage?

10. Why does Wanda interview the clerk at a second hand record store? Who does she pretend to be?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

How did Margaret's son die? How did this death impact Margaret's life? Why did she become a recluse? Why does Margaret treat the objects in her home as though they are alive and a part of her family? Where did some of these objects come from? How does this knowledge affect Margaret? What does Margaret eventually do with these items? How does this inspire Wanda to become a collage artist? How does this change Margaret and Wanda's lives?

Essay Topic 3

What is the star? How has it changed Margaret's life? When does it begin to grow? Who does Margaret begin to see as the star begins to grow? How does Wanda react to news of Margaret's illness? How does Margaret feel about Wanda's reaction? How long does Margaret live after the star begins to grow? What happens to her house and her roommates after her death?

(see the answer keys)

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