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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Joan find on her doorstep?
(a) A dead dog.
(b) Flowers.
(c) A dead porcupine.
(d) Balloons.

2. What do the police find that makes them suspicious?
(a) A note from Joan.
(b) Joan's dress.
(c) Joan's shoes.
(d) A life preserver.

3. Who says "Pull yourself together"?
(a) Joan.
(b) Arthur.
(c) Marlene.
(d) Sam.

4. After her landlord tells Joan about the stranger looking for her, what awakens Joan during the night?
(a) A dog barking.
(b) Footsteps outside her window.
(c) Gurgling water from the basin.
(d) Neighbors making noise.

5. What kind of boat does Joan rent?
(a) Rowboat.
(b) Canoe.
(c) Sailboat.
(d) Motorboat.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Joan learn about herself at the end of the novel?

2. When Joan decides not to run away from Terremoto and returns to her flat, what does she decide she must do as she crouches behind the door?

3. Who considers herself an escape artist?

4. As a result of the book, Joan has her first what?

5. What stops Joan from trying to write a different kind of novel?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Joan let go of her past?

2. What kind of love does Royal Porcupine express for Joan?

3. Explain the circumstances and symbolism behind Joan's cut feet.

4. What is the significance of the discovery of Joan's buried clothes?

5. Why does Joan feel she needs to disappear again?

6. How does Joan's affair with Royal Porcupine affect her stability?

7. How does Joan react when she reads the newspaper clippings that Sam sends her?

8. Why is Joan having trouble writing about her character Charlotte and the ending of her novel?

9. How does Joan use her novel to explore her own life?

10. How is the final chapter a resolution to Joan's lies and secrets?

(see the answer keys)

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