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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. What does Bobby let Marion and the narrator each buy one of on their trip?

2. What does Ana do at night that Richard is entirely uninterested in?

3. What does Marion ask the narrator to do for her that ends up getting the narrator kicked off the farm?

4. What is Otto's dog's name?

5. Who is Jack's girlfriend?

Short Essay Questions

1. When does Kayla feel, briefly, as if she has done something terrible in the story The Nanny?

2. How does Kayla successfully escape from the party Mary and Dennis bring her to?

3. What is the impression of the headmaster of Rowan's school of both the parents of the injured boy and of Richard?

4. What does Richard's ex-wife Pam tell him when she calls late at night in the story Northeast Regional?

5. What does Peter think about the way Otto and Heddy grew up on the farm and how it affected them long-term?

6. How does Peter feel upon seeing Steph cavorting with Otto and another woman in the story Arcadia?

7. What bothers Richard about Rowan's attitude when he first meets Rowan at the boarding school?

8. In the story Marion, why does the narrator essentially live with Marion?

9. When does Kayla realize that Dennis blames her and looks down on her for what happened with Rafe?

10. Who is Marion interested in sexually in the story Marion, and why is this a problem?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Cline build suspense, intrigue, and reader engagement across the stories in this collection? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

How and when does Peter seem to realize that he and Heddy are probably not that well-suited to each other as romantic partners, or as prospective parents? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

Why do you think George Friedman finds it so hard to muster feelings of affection and kindness towards his own son, Benji, in the story Son of Friedman, and how does Cline communicate this tendency of George's to the reader? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

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