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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. The woman who knocks on Evvie's door at the beginning of Chapter 8, Ellen Boyd, has a job in what field?

2. Which character asks Evvie many questions about Dean on Thanksgiving Day?

3. Lori, the mother of Dean's children, lives in which southern U.S. town?

4. Evvie remarks that when Dean had first arrived, she had thought that he "listened like a" (73) what?

5. For what fraction of her life has Evvie been with Tim by the time of the prologue's opening?

Short Essay Questions

1. What object does Evvie place on the mantel just before she opens the door to meet Dean and what is the object's significance?

2. Describe Dean's reaction to Evvie's story about the reporter who came by asking about Dean.

3. For what major change is Evvie preparing when the reader first meets her in the prologue entitled First?

4. What is the history of the friendship between Dean and Andy?

5. Provide evidence for the conclusion that Evvie had been frightened of her husband Tim during their marriage.

6. Name and discuss a second coping mechanism Evvie used to combat the feelings inspired by her unhappy marriage, according to the narrator.

7. What agreement do Evvie and Dean make at the end of Fall: Chapter 4?

8. What event is revealed at the end of the prologue to have brought a halt to Evvie's plans?

9. Discuss an instance when Holmes uses a literary device to comment on the nature of youth.

10. How does Holmes weave together issues of class with issues of domestic abuse?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss how and why Holmes instills three different humanist messages into the narrative of Evvie Drake Starts Over.

Essay Topic 2

Analyze Holmes's inclusion of money and class differences within the narrative. Analyze aspects of the narrative such as Tim's perceived superiority over Evvie throughout the entirety of their relationship.

Essay Topic 3

Explicate the theme of trust within Evvie Drake Starts Over. What is Holmes’s message regarding trust and how do you know?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,329 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample