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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. With whom does Joan plan to have an affair?

2. What is Joan's hometown?

3. Why did Teresa come to Canada to live?

4. What is a woman named Karin helping Austin to do as the story begins?

5. What does Averill do that surprises the captain?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why would Austin have had good reasons--in his mind--to have committed suicide?

2. Give some examples of how the author uses the theme of escape in this story.

3. What lie about Austin's true plans does Karin learn and how does she react to the news?

4. Who is Georgia, where has she traveled to at the beginning of the story, and who does she meet right away?

5. In what ways is Georgia's friendship with Maya one-sided in terms of who gives more and who controls the friendship?

6. Why has Anita come to her hometown and what does she recall about her childhood and about stopping for coffee with her friend, Margot, on their way to school?

7. Explain what Averill does every night on board the ship.

8. How did Margot get even with Reuel after his affair with their babysitter and manage to get all the things she had ever wanted in life?

9. How does Joan's hometown of Logan contribute to people's needs to fit in and not be too distinctive?

10. What does an older and divorced Joan learn about Matilda when she returns home to tend to her mother's grave?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The frustration of unfulfilled affection touches several characters in the stories. Name at least two characters who experience unfulfilled love and the situations that occur as a result.

Essay Topic 2

What is the significance of the book's title? What are some other possible titles for the book. List at least five and cite your reasons for each.

Essay Topic 3

Explain Alice Munro's writing style. How does she deliver information? How does she develop characters? What is the general tone of her stories? What is the most appealing aspect of Munro's writing for you? Explain.

(see the answer keys)

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