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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. Who sells Ben drugs regularly?

2. What is the name of Jo's musical group in Part II?

3. What does Vern tell McLeish he wants to build in Bexford?

4. What does Alan order for Val at their stop at the cafe?

5. What popular shop is directly hit by the bomb in Part I?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What does Ben become obsessed with in Part II that takes over his life?

4. Who does Vern become distracted by during his business dinner in Part I and why does this happen?

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

6. In Part II, what does Alec spend a lot of time doing besides working?

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

8. Why does Mike threaten Ben on the bus in Part II?

9. In Part I, how does Alec demonstrate his willingness to challenge authority as a child?

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 Jo find her way back to her dream of producing her own music and putting it out in the world towards the end of the novel? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

How does Vern's chance meeting with Alec change the course of Vern's life and business dramatically? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

How and when does the reader begin to understand the severity of Ben's struggles with Schizophrenia? Write an essay analyzing Spufford's descriptions of Ben's experiences with the disease, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 670 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample