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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. Whose idea had it been to give Plum a copy of Adventures in Dietland?

2. What role does Verena explicitly say she does not inhabit?

3. What type of surgery do Julia and her sisters undergo as they each reach their 21st birthdays?

4. What reason does Plum provide for why she does not have more friends, does not have dinner parties, and does not have overnight guests?

5. Where does Plum keep her clothes that fit?

Short Essay Questions

1. What quality of The Calliope House does Verena say had made her choose it as the location for her feminist collective?

2. What is the significance of the news story about Jayson Fox, the young rap star from Los Angeles?

3. Discuss the difference between Alicia and Plum at the start of the novel.

4. Describe Plum's job at Austen Media and how she comes to inhabit it.

5. What is the identifying feature of Leeta's appearance?

6. What significant event happens in the spring of Plum's junior year of high school?

7. What has always been Plum's dream career?

8. What allusion is being made within the line, "On top of a cabinet, a large orchid was trapped under a bell jar" (85) and what is the author's purpose for using it?

9. What act does Dr. Ormond Brown believe has precipitated the murders of Michael Simmons and Davis Green?

10. How does the motif of the italicized word "Burst!" (42) coincide with the theme of self-hatred?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the author's message regarding motherhood and what themes does the author employ in order to send these messages to the reader?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze Plum's feelings about finally letting go of Alicia and all that she represents. What message is the author sending about change and about one other theme of your choice?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss how the themes of truth, lies, and hypocrisy are interwoven within the novel’s narrative. Be sure to include discussion of Plum's decision at the very end of the novel to resist her urge to tell Leeta that everything will be alright.

(see the answer keys)

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