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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 title of the record George recalls once laughing about with her mother and father?

2. To which character had George's mother compared the painting by Francesco, calling it "generous," "sardonic," and "friendly" (205)?

3. George's mother told George that the castle nearby had been the site of a mass shooting how many years before?

4. What sort of seating is provided within the room at the museum where Francesco's painting is hung?

5. During H's third visit to George's house, George asks H if she thinks that dead people have what?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what ritual does George begin to engage while sitting in her garden each day?

2. Discuss an instance when Smith injects humor into a memory George has of her late mother.

3. What irony does George note about her father's profession?

4. What does the damage in George's house symbolize?

5. What element of language does George come to see differently after her mother's death?

6. Explain the revelation that is finally made about the source of George's incessant feelings of "guilt and fury" (210) that result in repetitive thoughts.

7. What two contradictory terms does George use to describe the atmosphere of the Italian town called Ferrara that she had visited with her mother and brother Henry?

8. How did George's mother react to George's confession about Lisa?

9. What location in her bedroom does George take great pains to hide from her father and why?

10. What is the main method George's father uses to cope with the trauma of losing his wife?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

William Faulkner once famously claimed that the most important literature deals with the subject of the human heart in conflict with itself. Explain how the theme of Human versus Self is demonstrated within Smith’s novel How to Be Both. Create a decisive, arguable claim and prove it with quotes from the novel.

Essay Topic 2

How do the themes of truth, lies, and hypocrisy function within How to Be Both and what is Smith’s message regarding these themes?

Essay Topic 3

What message does Smith send within the pages of How to Be Both concerning the effectiveness of different methods used to deal with grief?

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