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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. How did Major Brutt get to know Robert Pidgeon?

2. How does Portia feel about traveling alone?

3. What is Portia doing, instead of listening to her teacher?

4. How does Portia know Eddie?

5. Who is Portia's friend at school?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is contained in the letter Anna writes to Eddie?

2. Why does Portia have to go stay on the coast in spring?

3. How did Eddie get a position working for Thomas?

4. What happens when Anna and Thomas come home from their trip?

5. How did Anna meet Eddie?

6. What happens when Portia comes home early unexpectedly?

7. What makes Daphne's friends warm up to Portia?

8. What does Portia think about as she sits in Thomas's study with him?

9. How does Eddie react when Portia confronts him about holding Daphne's hand?

10. Why is Anna upset that Portia is missing her mother?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the characters of Eddie and Robert Pidgeon. Why does Anna say that neither of them are particularly genuine men? What character flaws do they share? Are there differences between the two? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

Essay Topic 2

This novel is a tale of a girl's passage into womanhood. What were the major turning points for Portia? At which points did she make great progress toward her coming of age? Who, or what, influenced this progression? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

Essay Topic 3

Portia's diary is a very important plot point. How did it tie the major characters together? What effect did it have on Portia's development into a woman? What problems did it cause with the people around Portia? Why do you think Bowen chose to use Portia's diary as one of the most important objects in the novel? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

(see the answer keys)

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