View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Peter tell Wanda he needed to do with his life that led to their separation, as Wanda explains it in chapter 2?

2. What does Wanda think of in chapter 16 as the paramedics load her into the ambulance?

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

4. Who tells Margaret she should not allow Wanda to borrow her car in chapter 8?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

8. What discussions does Margaret have with her doctor in chapter 10? What is the result of these discussions?

9. Why does Margaret Hughes decide to get a roommate? Who does she need to consult first?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Who is Irma Kosminsky? How does she become acquainted with Michael? Why does Michael initially refuse to take her Hawaiian shirt? What happens to cause Michael to take the shirts after all? What is the nature of the relationship between Michael and Irma? Why does this relationship change the way in which Michael has recently been living his life? Is this a good change? Where does the reader suspect this relationship is headed? How does the author foreshadow the end of this relationship?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

What happened to Margaret's mother? When did she die? Why does Margaret begin to see her mother? What role did her mother play in Margaret's life when she was a child? Now, as Margaret is an adult? What does it say about Margaret's health that she is seeing dead people? What does it say about her state of mind? Why does Margaret see her mother? Why does she not see her father or others who have died in her life?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 979 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample