View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Chapter 15, after Christmas, Tara doesn't feel she can open any door until she has repeated a routine in which she places how many fingers on the doorknob?

2. What is one factor of Sam's recovery, as explained in Chapter 18?

3. In Chapter 19, who asks Tara about her condition?

4. What does Tara do during the play she performs in in Chapter 13?

5. What does Tara's mother do at first to discourage her from doing "the doorknob thing" in Chapter 15?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Tara describe her analysis of her dream from the beginning of the novel in Chapter 23?

2. What question does Tara ask her teacher in Chapter 21? Who in the class understands Tara's question?

3. How does Christmas Day end for Tara in Chapter 14?

4. What conflict takes place between Tara and her father in Chapter 17?

5. How is the obstacle of diagnosis growing to a climax in Chapter 16?

6. How has Tara's emotional life evolved in Chapter 13?

7. What does Tara go with Donna to purchase in Chapter 20? Why?

8. How does Tara's mother feel after taking Tara to a doctor in Chapter 15? How has Tara's behavior progressed?

9. What fortunes are read by Tara's family at the Chinese restaurant in Chapter 16?

10. How does Tara's treatment with Susan Leopardi begin in Chapter 20?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze and discuss the climax of the narrative and the character of Mr. Jacobson in the novel. How does Tara's father know Mr. Jacobson? What questions does Mr. Jacobson ask Tara?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the element of sexuality in the novel. How do Donna and Tara's views on sexuality differ? When before has Tara discussed sexuality? What is the result of Donna's having unprotected sex? Who does Tara blame for Donna's pregnancy?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the theme of fear and Tara's fears in the narrative. What has led to Tara's fear of losing her parents? How is Tara's condition affected when her father is hospitalized? How does the isolation from her friends affect Tara? What does Tara claim her greatest fear is in the novel?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 972 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample