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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. In the Prologue to the novel, Richard is playing a piece by which composer?

2. What is the name of Richard's last girlfriend?

3. What idea does Richard have in the Chapter Eleven?

4. Richard feels that having ALS is a practice in what art?

5. What was the name of Karina's childhood piano teacher?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the first part of Richard that stops working? What does he do as a result?

2. After Richard loses the loss of his arms, how does he feed himself? What does Bill add to Richard's food in Chapter Eleven? Why?

3. Who is Bill? What information does the reader learn about his background?

4. What happens when Richard goes out in Chapter Twelve?

5. When Karina visits Richard for the second time, what changes in him does she notice?

6. Who is Maxine? How did Richard's diagnosis impact his relationship with her?

7. When helping Richard in the bathroom, what moves Karina to tears? What does she decide?

8. Who is Trevor and what has he said regarding Richard's illness?

9. Who is Kathy DeVillo and how does she help Richard?

10. What is Richard's relationship like with his daughter at the beginning of the novel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What might have happened to Richard and Karina had Richard never been diagnosed with ALS? Argue for an alternative reality based on what the reader knows of their histories, actions, and beliefs.

Essay Topic 2

The idea of his legacy is important to Richard. How does Richard’s opinion on his legacy evolve over the course of the novel? What point is the author trying to make regarding this idea?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay defining love from Karina’s perspective. What is love, according to Karina?

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