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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 does Thaddeus Bristol say is ironically missing from each performance?

2. According to Jim Timothy the child whose mother performed surgery was dying of _________.

3. What is Jim Timothy's show "Sun Roof Optional" about?

4. What does Jim Timothy say is an indication he is not from the area?

5. What is Jim Timothy working on now?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens when the Cottingham family move into next door to the narrator in "Christmas Means Giving"?

2. What is Thaddeus Bristol's complaint about the performance at Sacred Heart Elementary?

3. What does Thaddeus Bristol see as the irony in the Christmas pageants he critiques?

4. What does Thaddeus Bristol see as the flaws in "A Reindeer's Gift" at Scottsfield Elementary?

5. What do the Cottingham's usually send out as a Christmas card?

6. What is the premise of 'Front Row Center with Thaddeus Bristol "?

7. What are Thaddeus Bristol's complaints about the performance of "A Christmas Carol"?

8. What does the narrator discover happens to his sons after he gives them to the beggar?

9. What is the purpose of the narrator's Christmas card in "Christmas Means Giving"?

10. Who is Jim Timothy?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What qualities does Jocelyn Dunbar embody both as a character and as a narrator of the story? What makes her a reliable or unreliable narrator?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the characters of The Walrus and the Santa who never goes out of character in the story "SantaLand Diaries." How do these characters represent the paradox of the commercial Christmas?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the theme of misguided expectations and how it resonates throughout the book.

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