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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 do Vern and McLeish order for lunch?

2. What does Alec tell the writer at the end of Part II will probably not even happen that night?

3. What illness does Ben suffer with?

4. Why does the person Alec is asking for a job tell him he has hesitations for hiring him?

5. What kind of work does Alec do when he becomes an adult in Part I?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Part II, who does Alec have a difficult relationship with in his life?

2. How does Ben experience the world around him in Part II?

3. What is Vern like as a child, and how does his childhood temperament relate to his adult one?

4. What kind of job does Alec's mentor help him get as a young adult?

5. How does Vern mislead his dinner companion in Part I?

6. How does Val meet Mike and why is she attracted to him?

7. Why does the doctor and medical students analyze Ben's case in Part II?

8. Why does Vern refuse to talk to the object of his admiration in Part I in the restaurant?

9. Why does Alec's mentor have some misgivings about him going into the line of work he has chosen?

10. What is unusual about the way Jo experiences music?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Spufford describe Ben's and Marsha's relationship, and why does it work so well even though it appears unconventional on the surface? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

How do each of the five main characters' financial situations change over the course of the novel, and how important is money to each of them in making significant choices in their lives? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

How does Spufford describe Alec's relationship with Sandra, both before and after their divorce? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

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