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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. Which character does Belinda expect will be waiting for her at the airport in London?

2. Belinda that she believes she will miss "how quickly and dramatically" Mary's what appears able to change?

3. What is the name of the clothing store where Belinda buys new clothing?

4. From whose perspective is Chapter 10 narrated?

5. Who helps Mary come up with an alter ego who will help her pretend that she loves her work and life?

Short Essay Questions

1. What element of the burial scene in the prologue most upsets Belinda?

2. What is the significance of Amma's cigarette butt that she leaves behind a couch cushion?

3. Discuss a striking use of metaphor that occurs in the prologue.

4. What is Mary's perspective on karma?

5. What simile does Mary employ in order to describe her idea of an automaton lifestyle?

6. How does Belinda succeed in calming Amma down when she has begun to sob during the visualization exercise?

7. What major difference in relation to pets does Belinda relate to Mary in their first phone call after being parted?

8. What does the kitchen sink symbolize in relation to Mary and Belinda's relationship?

9. Describe Donkor's use of allusion within Chapter 9.

10. In what way does the sound motif enter the narrative in relation to Belinda's feelings toward Mary?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze Donkor’s novel from an Existential perspective. What elements of life does the novel suggest hold the most meaning and with which of its themes do these beliefs dovetail?

Essay Topic 2

Sensory details are used frequently by Donkor in order to create vivid pictures of each character's progression through the narrative of Housegirl. Choose three scenes in which sensory details are heavily used and discuss how the sensory details used serve Donkor’s creation of vivid characters to populate the narrative.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss how and why Donkor instills three different humanist messages into the narrative of Housegirl.

(see the answer keys)

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