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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. Who has a birthday party at the beginning of Part 2: Chapter 2?

2. What item does Sally add to the gear to prevent a further argument?

3. What does Larry see from his balcony window?

4. Where do Larry and Sally go in Part 2: Chapter 5?

5. Where did Sid teach after losing his job in Wisconsin?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Charity maintain control even though her death is imminent?

2. Why is this chapter the climax of the book?

3. To what does Larry compare the drowning mouse he comes across while searching for Sid?

4. Although Larry and Sally never had the advantages or financial ease that Sid and Charity did, they seem to have a better marriage. Explain how the author reveals this.

5. How has the necessity for rescue changed between the two couples?

6. Why does Sid not want to go on the family picnic?

7. What is the situation the characters find themselves in when the novel returns to the present day in 1972?

8. How does the theme of rescue extend in Part 2: Chapter 2?

9. Why does Larry consider their year in Italy to be one of the best and most youthful for Sally and him?

10. What plans has Charity made for her family for after her death?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe Charity Lang. How does the author make her come to life in the story? How is she bigger than life compared to the other characters? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

The theme of rescue will be an important one in the novel. How does the author begin to build this theme? Give examples of rescues throughout the book.

Essay Topic 3

Why does Larry describe the Langs and the Morgans as "two Adams and Eves?" What does he mean by that? Why does the author use this metaphor? Explain.

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