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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. At which of the following did Fife study as a graduate student?

2. Which of the following serves the Chapmans as a secretary?

3. At which of the following publishing houses had Fife thought to publish his first novel?

4. Which of the following is noted as Amy’s favorite book?

5. Which of the following does Malcolm note is Fife’s first film?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Vincent described as he is introduced?

2. What reasons does Fife give for wanting to escape life with Amy in Boston?

3. From what source do the Chapmans have money?

4. Who, per Fife, is Howard Levy, and why is he imprisoned?

5. How does Amanda surprise Fife when she returns to her living room before their first assignation?

6. What objection do the Chapmans initially raise to Fife’s son’s name?

7. What technique does Fife use to overcome panic aboard the plane?

8. What advice does Emma have for Malcolm concerning the lucidity of Fife’s narration?

9. What reasons do the Chapmans give for offering Fife a business position?

10. What reason does Fife give to Amy for not having previously told her about his past?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Consider the following: “Fife asks Sloan if she can imagine believing […] that she’s already ruined her life. He means destroyed her future, shut off all possibilities of ever realizing the American dream, or the Canadian dream, although he doesn’t think there actually is a Canadian Dream” (57). Does the novel bear out the last assertion, that there is no Canadian dream? How or how not?

Essay Topic 2

In the novel, some characters are given full names; others are given only one name, or none. What is signified by the relative number of names, and how is the significance presented?

Essay Topic 3

Does the epigraph from Pessoa connect to the novel? If so, how so? If not, what purpose might it serve, and how might it serve it?

(see the answer keys)

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