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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 Chick believe about his current circumstances now that he knows he is somewhere in limbo between life and death?

2. Why does Chick calls his mother a hypocrite when she finds an item hidden in his sock drawer when he is only fourteen?

3. What did Chick's fourteen-year-old daughter write in the memory book at her grandmother's funeral?

4. What does Chick not want to be, what frightens him about his death?

5. Who does Chick claim was a ghost throughout his childhood?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why was Posey not impressed with Chick's baseball scholarship?

2. Who encourages Chick to leave town the day of his mother's birthday? Why?

3. Who encouraged Chick to drop out of college?

4. Why was Posey fired from her job as a nurse?

5. What did Posey often do for some of the patients in the hospital where she worked as a nurse?

6. What happens when Chick hears the strange voice once again?

7. What did Marie write in the memory book at her grandmother's funeral?

8. What metaphor did Posey often use for the death of her patients when she was a nurse?

9. Why does Posey suggest Len got involved with this second woman while he was in the war, even though he was already engaged to Posey?

10. What does Chick admit embarrassed him about his mother as a child?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the writer's style. Discuss in detail the writer's choice to structure his book in the way he has, the use of the newspaper clips and lists, his choice of words, his use of dialogue, and his choice of chapter names. Discuss how each of these choices affects the reader's overall impression of the novel and the themes within the novel.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss father-daughter relationships. How is Chick's relationship with his daughter like his own relationship with his father? How is Chick's relationship with his daughter like his relationship with his mother? Why is Chick's relationship with his daughter important to the plot of the novel? Who is Chick's daughter? How is Chick's sister's relationship with their mother different from Chick's relationship with their mother? Is this difference important to the developing plot? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss one of the following themes in detail, citing examples from the novel:

1) Death

2) Suicide

3) Father-Son Relationships

4) Mother-Son Relationships

(see the answer keys)

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