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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why do Christine and Gene fight at the party?
(a) He did not remember her birthday.
(b) He is flirting with other girls.
(c) He wants to go home early.
(d) He is smoking marijuana.

2. Where has Kathryn gone for the weekend so that Paul can write?
(a) An offsite meeting for work.
(b) Her mother's.
(c) A weekend cruise.
(d) A bed and breakfast.

3. Kathryn feels that she is the one who ____________________ in the marriage.
(a) sacrifices the most.
(b) believes.
(c) loves the most.
(d) is more vested.

4. Who is the young mother who Paul and Kathryn meet at the party?
(a) Janet.
(b) Lauren.
(c) Christine.
(d) Joanne.

5. When Paul cannot concentrate on his book, he goes out because he is ______________.
(a) sad.
(b) angry.
(c) lacking inspiration.
(d) restless.

Short Answer Questions

1. Paul tells Kathryn that it is _________________ for her to be attracted to someone else.

2. The book addresses a group of young people commonly called ________________.

3. Why is Paul annoyed with Gene at the beginning of the novel?

4. Stofsky receives a letter from ___________________ from his Merchant Marine days.

5. Stofsky begins to wonder if God could be __________________.

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the real reason for Paul's irritation toward Pasternak, who is sleeping late in Paul's apartment?

2. How does the fight between the two men over a woman serve as a metaphor for what may lie ahead for Paul and Kathryn?

3. How are psychotherapy and writing compared and which seems to help the characters in the book?

4. What does Chapter 2 reveal about Paul and Kathryn's marriage and the strain that Paul's hopeful writing career places on it?

5. How does the budding romance between Pasternak and Christine begin to mirror that of Paul and Kathryn's marriage?

6. Describe the scene where Stofsky goes to see Waters in his flat and is picked up by the asylum attendants.

7. What do Paul and Kathryn realize about their marriage and their life as they recover from the party the next day?

8. What are some of the ways in which Stofsky searches for meaning in his life?

9. What does the conversation regarding infidelity reveal about Paul and Kathryn's marriage?

10. What is an example of how the post-war search for meaning is taking on toll on people?

(see the answer keys)

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