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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 comment that “They are a chain of three islands, tied together, yet separate, an archipelago” (153) offers an example of which of the following?

2. On which of the following roads does Fife leave Boston?

3. To which of the following books does Fife refer?

4. Which of the following does Fife illicitly purchase while on his teenaged road-trip with Nick Dafina?

5. Which of the following constellations does Fife note as he enters Vermont?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Fife note having felt suspicious as he leaves the bank with the deposit check from Alicia’s trust fund?

2. How does Fife describe Amy’s reaction to Boston?

3. What causes Fife to come to a sudden stop as he drives out of Boston?

4. What does Fife muse that Renée does for him?

5. Why does Fife muse Malcolm and Diana do not care about his account of his life?

6. How is Stanley’s house described?

7. How does Fife differentiate biography from autobiography or interview?

8. Why does Malcolm note he means to keep in his film Fife’s narration about dropping out of college?

9. With what interviewing technique does Malcolm credit Fife?

10. What items does Fife note having in his briefcase in Boston after being separated from his luggage?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Consider the following passage:

He likes the mingled odor of cigarettes and sweat and minty shampoo. He can’t catch the scent of much, but he can smell her. Young women, their scent is different and better than that of middle-aged and older women. It’s as if desire and longing for desire have distinct and different odors. When Emma leans down in the morning to kiss his cheek before leaving for their production company office downtown, he inhales the smell of English breakfast tea and unscented soap. The odor of a longing for desire. This young woman, Sloan, she smells of desire itself (7-8).

What tone does the passage convey? How does it do so?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the progress of the Chapman family’s attitude towards Fife.

(see the answer keys)

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