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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. Russ saw Ambrose as understanding people on what level?

2. Why does Russ have an accident in his car when he is with Frances?

3. When Marion looks in the mirror, what does she think she is in regard to her weight?

4. How does Marion reference the physical attributes of her psychiatrist?

5. Clem defends kids at school who were called what?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Shirley give $13,000 to Becky in a will as an inheritance?

2. What does Sally say to Ambrose, that Russ told her about Russ’s marriage?

3. Why does Marion call Shirley’s acting insignificant, by referring to her as a “pretty face who memorized lines”?

4. Why is Russ upset that Frances calls Ambrose a “genius” for his work with the church teen group Crossroads?

5. Why does Marion believe that her “acting had mesmerized Bradley Grant,” and does this make her more like her actress sister Shirley?

6. What does Frances want to do with the marijuana she finds in Larry’s bedroom?

7. Who does Becky go to Crossroads group meetings with first?

8. What is the “humiliation” that Russ suffered on the first mission trip to Arizona with the Crossroads group of teens?

9. Why does Marion still feel obsessed with Bradley 30 years after their love affair?

10. Why did Perry and other teenagers at the Haefle party sneak and drink the adult vodka mixed drink gløgg?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the ways that Russ justified being infatuated with the widow Frances and wanting to sleep with her, based on what Russ blamed his wife Marion for in their marriage.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay about how for her whole life, Marion was jealous of her sister Shirley and her laissez-faire or casual perspective of men. By the end of the novel, Marion had the same ideas as Shirley in regard to Marion’s ideas of the worth of men in a woman’s life. Focus on the life events that changed Marion to become more like the carefree sister Shirley whom she never appreciated when she was alive.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay that lists all of the illegal actions of Perry throughout the book. Why did his parents never punish him or intervene, even when they caught him selling drugs to school-aged children? Be specific.

(see the answer keys)

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