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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. Which character is described by the narrator as a "quiet, distinguished-looking man about sixty who has real style...[he] can talk with you and make you feel instantly at home" (p. 30)?
(a) Mr. Frazer.
(b) Rev. Fickett.
(c) Mr. Shilling.
(d) Mr. Bernstein.

2. Which character's father is a minister?
(a) Mary Nell Fickett.
(b) Betsy Goodman.
(c) Lisa Shilling.
(d) Elizabeth Frazer.

3. Betsy Goodman asks Jeremy Bernstein about Lisa Shilling's mental illness. Bernstein responds by...
(a) Telling Betsy to focus on her schoolwork and leave Lisa alone.
(b) Saying he will take over Lisa's therapy.
(c) Saying Betsy won't be able to help but offering to lend Betsy some books.
(d) Suggesting Betsy is doing more harm than good.

4. Which character is described by the narrator as looking "like Shelley Winters playing a roadhouse pick-up...stretch-pants two sizes too small, preshrunk sweaters with classic midriff bulge, a fur coat slung over her shoulders, and a scarf hiding the curlers in her hair" (p. 29)?
(a) Mrs. Fickett..
(b) Mrs. Goodman.
(c) Mrs. Shilling.
(d) Mrs. Frazer.

5. The novel is set in what U.S. State?
(a) Georgia.
(b) Connecticut.
(c) New Jersey.
(d) New York.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which character is the youngest major character of the novel?

2. Betsy Goodman is most-fascinated with which actor/actress?

3. Lisa Shilling's only sibling is..

4. Lisa Shilling's conversation with her parents opens the novel. After that conversation what does Lisa do?

5. How does Mrs. Shilling respond when Mary Nell Fickett tries to tell her that Lisa Shilling has a mental illness that needs treatment?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does the narrator spend so much time establishing which protagonist is better looking, which is more intelligent, and which is from a wealthier family?

2. What kind of a job does Mr. Jackson do as the school principal?

3. Mental illness aside, how typical are the four main protagonists of the novel?

4. Describe the chronology of the four main characters' friendships (in other words, who is friends with whom first).

5. Why does Betsy Goodman self-describe as the least important person in the narrative?

6. What kind of a job does Mr. Goodman do as an insurance salesman?

7. Why does Lisa Shilling feel more comfortable with her new friend Betsy Goodman than with her older friend Mary Nell Fickett?

8. Who is the narrator in chapter one?

9. Describe the nature of the relationship between Brian Morris and Lisa Shilling in the early part of the novel.

10. Why does Lisa Shilling find herself attracted to Elizabeth Frazer, as a potential friend?

(see the answer keys)

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