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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. Dexter reveals in Chapter 4 that the one big clue of the day was the ______.

2. Dexter realizes that ______ likes him.

3. Dexter gives ______ the creeps.

4. Deborah tells Dexter that she wants to work in ______.

5. Where is the decapitated body found in Chapter 10?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who does Dexter kill in the beginning of the novel? Why does Dexter kill this person?

2. What question does Dexter say is the key to thinking about the killer? How would Dexter have done things different had he committed these murders?

3. Explain what Dexter believes the real Tamiami Trail Killer is going to do now that there has been an arrest in the murder case.

4. How does Dexter know someone has been inside his home? What is damaged or missing inside Dexter's home?

5. Who is Dexter Morgan? Who is his father and what was his occupation? Describe the relationship Dexter has with his father.

6. Compare and contrast Dexter and Deborah Morgan. Use specific details from the text to support your answer.

7. Why does Dexter attend the Metro's seventy-two hour meeting? Who is unhappy that Dexter is at the meeting? Explain.

8. Describe Dexter's dream in Chapter 7. What literary device is the author using through this dream?

9. What gift does the intruder leave Dexter? What is symbolic of this gift?

10. Who is Detective LaGuerta? Do the other characters in the novel respect Detective LaGuerta? What is her relationship with Dexter like?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Select a scene from the novel that you find most memorable. Write an essay in which you identify the scene, explain its relationship to the work and analyze the reasons for its effectiveness.

Essay Topic 2

Choose a scene from Darkly Dreaming Dexter in which some of the most significant events are mental or psychological, such as an awakening, discovery, or change in consciousness. In a well-organized essay, describe how the author manages to give these internal events the sense of excitement, suspense and climax usually associated with external action.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the theme of politicking in the police force. Analyze how the author uses literary elements to explore this issue and explain how the issue contributes to the meaning of the work, include the effect it has on the characters in the novel.

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