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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 is the name originally given to schizophrenia, as discussed in Chapter 2?

2. What nickname do the Galvin children give Donald in Chapter 11?

3. According to the narrator in Chapter 12, Margaret and Mary are among the first to witness the instability of which member of the Galvin family?

4. According to researcher David Rosenthal in Chapter 9, what causes schizophrenia?

5. According to Michael in Chapter 13, what is to blame for his arrests?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens during Thanksgiving in Chapter 15?

2. What happens to Don Galvin in Chapter 17?

3. What impact did the theory of the schizophrenogenic mother have on families, as explained in Chapter 4?

4. What theories gain momentum in Chapter 14? Which researchers make such claims?

5. How does Michael feel about his family upon returning home in Chapter 21?

6. What happens to Michael in Chapter 13? Why does Michael believe these things have happened to him?

7. What change does Mary experience to her home situation in Chapter 23?

8. What hobby do the Galvins enjoy, as discussed in Chapter 1? What draws them to this hobby?

9. What traumatic experience begins to happen to Margaret and Mary in Chapter 12? How do they react to this trauma? Why?

10. How has the situation gotten worse at home, as demonstrated in Chapter 22?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the author’s choice to tell the story of the Galvin family through multiple perspectives. How does viewing the action through the eyes of different individuals affect the story? How would the book be different if the author used single perspective?

Essay Topic 2

Many members of the Galvin family experience intense fear. Discuss three individuals, objects, or situations and explain how each experiences fear and how each deals with it.

Essay Topic 3

Hidden Valley Road opens with an epigraph taken from Anne Tyler, who writes: “The clearest way that you can show endurance is by sticking with a family.” Using textual evidence to support your claims, show how Tyler’s words apply to Hidden Valley Road.

(see the answer keys)

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