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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 Melinda do to prepare the house for when people come to visit?

2. What instrument does Melinda often play?

3. What does Vic collect and nurture?

4. What game do Vic and Trixie like to play frequently together?

5. What does Vic sometimes bring to Melinda in her room in the morning?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Vic try to stop Melinda's affair with De Lisle?

2. What does Vic think of Melinda's piano playing?

3. What is Vic's reputation in Little Wesley?

4. How does Vic realize Melinda is seeing Charley De Lisle?

5. What does Melinda ask De Lisle to help her learn?

6. What does Horace Meller tell Vic in Part II he is happy for Vic about?

7. How does Trixie generally react to Melinda's men she is having affairs with?

8. Why does Vic choose not to dance?

9. Who does most of the housework in the Van Allen household, and why?

10. How does Melinda flaunt her affairs?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How do Vic and almost everybody in Little Wesley react to Melinda's accusations against him following De Lisle's death? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

How does Highsmith establish and maintain suspense throughout the novel? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

Why do Don Wilson and his wife move out of town, and what does Highsmith use this episode to reveal about the social strata in town? Write an essay explaining your answers,

(see the answer keys)

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