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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. What do the people next door to Jen remind her of, as she describes them for the reader?

2. Who does Jen imagine is surrounding her when she is in her drugged and drunk state after leaving her meeting?

3. What does a friend of Jen's do for this friend's mother in order to help alleviate the pain of dying?

4. Who is the person that stands outside and smokes before going in to see Wallace after the surgery?

5. Jen thinks that _______ are the best gatherings she knows about, along with getting together at the bedside of a dying person.

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the reason that Wallace is having some troubles talking, according to Sarah's report to the children?

2. What does Jen know will happen every time she schedules a meeting with Kathleen?

3. Why does Jen love to have Megan over to stay with her at her little home?

4. What do the townspeople say is happening in the town, which is what is leading to all of the misery?

5. What is the first sign that there is something wrong with Wallace, according to the story?

6. Why are the children so surprised that they get along when they are together in the present time?

7. What happens every Tuesday night in Jen's life, according to the story?

8. How did Eric and Jen meet, according to the story that Jen tells in the book?

9. What has happened to all of Jen's male friends, or so she remembers when she is driving away from the hospital?

10. What is the living situation of Jen at the beginning of the story and how did she come upon this arrangement?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Jen seems to be just getting by in life, working only enough to support herself and her writing time.

Part 1: How do you feel about the character of Jen in this story?

Part 2: Why do you think Jen doesn't want to do more with her life?

Part 3: Do you think it's a good idea to simply work to create time for pleasure?

Essay Topic 2

In the days leading up to the surgery, it seems that a number of things are going badly in the town of Clement.

Part 1: Why do you think Lamott decided to make the town more tragic during this time?

Part 2: Do you think Jen's mood might be affecting the way she describes what happens in the town?

Part 3: How do you think the tragedies in the town might affect you if you were living there?

Essay Topic 3

Kathleen interprets a dream of Jen's to mean that she is afraid for others to see the bad parts of herself.

Part 1: Do you think that Kathleen's dream assessment is accurate? Why or why not?

Part 2: Do you think that all people are afraid for others to see the bad parts of themselves?

Part 3: How do you think a person's life might change if others saw the bad parts of these people?

(see the answer keys)

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