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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 Manus purchase for Shannon of their date?

2. Why do Evie and Shannon spend their time in the furniture section?

3. What kind of dress does Shannon wear the day of the accident?

4. What word does the realtor use that briefly puts Brandy and the others into a panic?

5. What aspect of Shannon's life is Brandy constantly changing?

Short Essay Questions

1. What accident does Shane have when he was fifteen?

2. What is Shannon's father's strategy for selling his pigs at market?

3. After arriving at the hospital, what surprises Shannon about the others in the waiting room?

4. Why does Evie live in a mansion in the suburbs?

5. What article of clothing does Brandy suggest Shannon wear?

6. Describe briefly the opening scene of the novel.

7. Why do Evie and Shannon continually visit the department store?

8. When the realtor talks about Canadian currency, why does it give the group pause?

9. What is the one thing Shannon has wanted to be asked?

10. What has Shannon told her parents, instead of telling them about the accident?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the novel, Shannon gets more and more extreme in her actions. Detail her evolution from start to finish. How is the first Shannon we meet in the novel different from the final Shannon? Does she truly change in the novel? What are the major events that change her? What are the implications of the fires she sets? Choose specific events in the novel that are game-changers for her character.

Essay Topic 2

In the novel, each character goes through a transformation. Go through each major character one by one and explains their journey and ultimate conclusion. Be sure to use specifics from the text.

Essay Topic 3

The novel makes use of different stereotypes are archetypes for some of the characters such as the model, the drag queen, and even the Texas oil princess. Choose three stereotypes and unpack their roles in the novel. To which characters do these stereotypes apply? Do they apply to multiple characters? How does the use of stereotypes contribute to the central theme of the novel? Do the stereotyped characters undergo any changes or are they static, remaining the same from start to finish?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 638 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample