2. 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?

3. Which of the following does Fife note driving in St. Petersburg?

4. For which of the following holidays does Fife note to Amy they are expected to visit his parents?

5. Which of the following are reportedly visible from Stanley’s home?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Fife explain his teenaged road trip with Nick Dafina as “clean and honorable” (188-89)?

2. Describe the accommodations Fife details at the end of his teenaged roadtrip with Nick Dafina.

3. What features of Boston does Fife recognize as his plane from Washington arrives in that city?

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

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

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

7. With what interviewing technique does Malcolm credit Fife?

8. What does Fife muse that the film crew will gain from their project?

9. What does Fife note is his common public image?

10. What reasons does Fife give Alicia that his marriage to Amy was wrong?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Fife comments to Emma that “a countless number of times throughout his live, his reality seems to have been little more than the refracted pressures of his needs. Those are his exact words, carefully chosen, sharply articulated: the refracted pressures of his needs” (115). What might Fife mean by the phrase? How does the novel bear out that meaning?