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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 refers to behavior in which a person acts in a certain way not because they want to, but because they feel they have to do so?

2. What refers to distress or uneasiness of mind caused by fear of danger or misfortune?

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

4. What is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea?

5. In Chapter 2, Tara awakes from a nightmare in which what is coming through her neighborhood?

Short Essay Questions

1. What leads Tara to study religion in Chapter 6? How is this perceived by her family?

2. How does Tara defend her friendship with Donna to Keesha in Chapter 12?

3. What does Tara reveal to Donna about herself in Chapter 12? What is Donna's reaction?

4. How does Tara find security in religion, as illustrated in Chapter 6?

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

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

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

8. How does Tara describe the phrase that began her problems in Chapter 1?

9. What is Tara's response to being kicked off the volleyball team in Chapter 3?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and analyze Tara's experience at the carnival in Chapter 10. In what ways is this a pinnacle of demoralization for Tara? How does Tara's mother feel about her behavior? How does Tara's father react to the situation? What major lesson does Tara learn?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the role that religious obsession plays in obsessive-compulsive disorder. What other symptoms are significant which are displayed by Tara in the narrative? Would you have diagnosed Tara as OCD based upon her behavior? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss stereotypes in the novel and in real life. How realistic are the characters of Keesha, Kristin and Anna? Are these stereotypes realistic depictions of people you can relate to? Why or why not? Is there a basis in the stereotypes? Are they simply Tara's way of identifying people?

(see the answer keys)

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