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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. As which of the following is Sloan’s hair described?

2. About which of the following does Malcolm ask Fife?

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

4. To which of the following does Malcolm compare Fife?

5. Which of the following denies the guilty party accommodations in Fife’s work on priestly misconduct?

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. What comments are made regarding Fife’s dormitory room in his first collegiate attempt?

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

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

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

6. What sentence is noted for the guilty party in Fife’s work on priestly misconduct?

7. What apprehension does Fife face as he parks in front of a pharmacy in his hometown?

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Consider the following passage:

But after these ten years away, it can’t be all that painful now, [Fife] assures himself. He’s no longer afraid of the shame that he once associated with the mere mention of the name of the place. He’s a different person now. People change. What harm can come to his new life by setting that town alongside it? Even if the town is altogether unchanged, which he doubts, it won’t threaten his hard-won balance and momentum. Not anymore. He’s a different person now. They are no longer in conflict, Fife and his hometown, Fife’s present and his shameful past (124).

Does the novel bear out the assertion of the passage? How or how not?

Essay Topic 2

Consider the following passage: “That’s all, just numbers, [Fife] thinks. What’s the matter with him? He’s not stupid. Be why can’t he read and interpret those numbers and as a result know that the economy is in decent shape, at least for the foreseeable future? Or not. Maybe the stock market is about to tank” (78). Explicate the implications for Fife of the passage.

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the novel, there is a dearth of quotation marks used to indicate what words are speech. What is typically used, instead, and how? What effect does the difference have on the reading? How does the effect manifest?

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