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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 Chapter Twenty Nine, what does Dimonte tell Myron has hit the morning edition of the newspaper?

2. What does Dimonte say Sidney Bowman spends most of his spare time doing?

3. Who does Myron think called him with the electronically altered voice?

4. How did Greg Downing tell the B Man he was going to get the money to pay his gambling debts?

5. What is the blackmailer wearing over his head when he meets Myron?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Clip's statement in Chapter Twenty Four about Greg Downing having learned his lesson about violence years before foreshadow?

2. How does Cole Whiteman describe the murder that the Raven Brigade has been in hiding for since the Sixties?

3. What facts in Chapter Twenty Two make Esperanza think Clip Arnstein knows more about Greg Downing's disappearance and Liz Gorman's murder than he has revealed?

4. Is there any evidence in the novel that Myron might still have feelings for Emily Downing?

5. Explain how Esperanza handles Jason Blair's contract negotiations with the Red Sox and what her handling of the situation demonstrates about her character.

6. What shocking secret is revealed on the tape Cole Whiteman sends Myron?

7. When Myron tells Win that Jessica has asked him to move in with her, why doesn't Win respond immediately?

8. Why does Myron take Audrey with him to meet the blackmailer?

9. What does Myron find out about Fiona White's involvement with Greg Downing?

10. Explain how Win determines Clip Arnstein is lying about knowing Sally or Carla.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the depiction of women in Fade Away. What professions do the women in the novel have? What is the relationship of the female characters in the story to the male characters, i.e. are the female characters subordinate to the men and in traditional female roles or are any of the women in dominant and/or nontraditional roles? Give examples of how the novel's female characters exhibit typical or atypical gender role behavior for the era in which the novel is set. What do you think Harlan Coben is trying to say about women through the novel's female characters? Cite examples from the text to support your arguments.

Essay Topic 2

Three separate groups are looking for Greg Downing in this novel: Myron and Win, Dimonte and the police, and B Man and his thugs. Compare and contrast the three groups and their searches. Include the reason each group is searching for Greg, the methods each group uses to find the missing man, and how the groups interact with each other. Which group or groups seem more efficient at uncovering clues and discovering what is going on with Greg? Cite examples from the text to support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

In Fade Away, some of the ways the media is portrayed are through Audrey Wilson, who is a sports writer, and through the endorsement deal Greg Downing gets with Forte sneakers. Discuss the influence of the media in this novel. What do you think the author is trying to say about the role of the media in the world of professional sports? Cite at least three examples from the text to support your arguments.

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