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

Short Answer Questions

1. What color dress does Elaine wear for the gallery opening?

2. What incident does Elaine claim not to remember?

3. What is different about Elaine's sixth grade school?

4. What movie does Elaine think could have been directed by Josef?

5. What does Charna say that the attendees at the art retrospective feel about Elaine?

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

Discuss control in the novel.

1) Elaine believes that Cordelia wants her to kill herself, and is putting thoughts of suicide in her mind when Elaine is a young girl. How does Cordelia control her at that age? Does Elaine have a choice in the relationship?

2) Who has the control when Elaine and Cordelia are in high school, and why?

3) Does Cordelia continue to control Elaine, even when they are apart, years later in their lives?

4) Why does Elaine allow Josef to control her during their relationship?

Essay Topic 3

Elaine's relationship with Stephen is an important aspect of her life. Discuss the role of Stephen in the novel.

1) What role does Stephen play in Elaine's childhood? How does growing up with a brother affect Elaine's perception of men and women?

2) What role do Stephen's ideas about time and physics play in Elaine's life and artwork?

3) How does Stephen's death affect Elaine and her family?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 408 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample