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

Short Answer Questions

1. In the play Cordelia is in, what is the cabbage supposed to be?

2. What does Elaine find, after Susie calls her urgently for help?

3. Does Josef want to keep his affair with Elaine a secret?

4. Is Elaine's ex-husband on time?

5. Does Elaine agree to help Cordelia get out of the rest home?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Elaine is drawn to religion but also rejects it. Discuss the importance and meaning of religion in the novel.

1) What is Grace's mother's attitude to religion? How do her values affect her children?

2) Why does Elaine choose hell over forgiving Grace's mother? How does she perceive God? Why does she seek out different churches as an adult?

3) Why does Elaine embrace the Virgin Mary as an alternative to God? What does the Virgin Mary that Elaine visits in Mexico mean to her?

4) What is the meaning of Elaine's vision of the Virgin Mary when she is in the icy ravine?

Essay Topic 2

Describe the culture of women in the book.

1) How does Elaine perceive other girls when she is young, before she has girl friends, and what is her perception of her first girl friends?

2) How does the culture of women in the book differ from the culture of men? How is Elaine a different person with women than with men?

3) How does Elaine interact with women as an adult, and how does this relate to her early experiences with other girls?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Elaine's feelings toward Cordelia.

1) Why does Elaine always think she sees Cordelia, wherever she goes?

2) How is the reality of meeting Cordelia different from Elaine's fantasies about meeting Cordelia, and why?

3) Does Elaine have a realistic idea of what Cordelia is like? In what ways is Elaine's perception of Cordelia flawed, and in what ways is it accurate?

4) What are Elaine's positive and negative feelings toward Cordelia? Are the two women friends? Have they ever been friends?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 447 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample