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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 Donna ask Tara if she has in Chapter 11?

2. In Chapter 8, Tara says that her parents "release their anxiety by fighting about money, movies, friends" and what?

3. What does Tara repeatedly do on a ride at the carnival in Chapter 10?

4. What verb means to break down the courage of completely, as by sudden danger or trouble?

5. Tara tells her parents that the teacher told the class to call the police if they saw their parents doing what in Chapter 3?

Short Essay Questions

1. What awakens Tara in Chapter 2? Who does she turn to for reassurance?

2. How does Tara describe her relationship with her mother in Chapter 2? How does she describe her friends?

3. What is tragic about the image that Tara projects about herself versus the reality in Chapter 3?

4. What leads up to Tara's stealing in Chapter 12? What does she do after stealing?

5. How does Tara come to feel about Keesha in Chapter 5? Why? What does this evolve into?

6. How does Tara feel after the incident at the carnival in Chapter 10? What new fear has arisen?

7. What exchange does Tara describe with Mrs. Scott in Chapter 1? What causes Tara's humiliation?

8. How does Tara deal with her parents' absence while they are at work in Chapter 8?

9. What takes place at the carnival in Chapter 10?

10. How does Tara view language in Chapter 5? Why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss intrusive thoughts as symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder. How are intrusive thoughts defined? How are these symptomatic of OCD? How do intrusive thoughts differ from things like a passing crush or worry about a test? What are examples of intrusive thoughts in Tara's character?

Essay Topic 2

Describe Tara's father's medical condition. What led to his heart attack, and how serious was his condition at the hospital? How does Tara's father's heart attack affect Tara's relationship with her mother? How is Greta affected by her father's hospitalization?

Essay Topic 3

Describe and analyze Tara Sullivan as the protagonist of "Kissing Doorknobs". How old is Tara in Chapter 1? What can be discerned about her personality? How does Tara evolve and grow as a character throughout the narrative? How old is Tara at the end of the book?

(see the answer keys)

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