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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 is the profession of Betsy Goodman's father ?
(a) He's a psychiatrist.
(b) He's an insurance salesman.
(c) He's a school guidance counselor.
(d) He's a reverend.

2. Lisa Shilling's conversation with her parents opens the novel. After that conversation what does Lisa do?
(a) Moves out of the house to live with her boyfriend.
(b) Lays on her bead and smashes her head against the headboard.
(c) Goes shopping with her friends.
(d) Goes to school and flunks her English test.

3. The narrator states that Mr. Shilling's primary motivation is...
(a) Fashion.
(b) Money.
(c) Power.
(d) Knowledge.

4. After spending a few hours researching various topics in psychology and mental illness, Betsy Goodman is confused and decides to...
(a) Ask Mr. Bernstein what he thinks might be wrong with Lisa Shilling.
(b) Ignore the situation and just by Lisa Shilling's friend.
(c) Ignore the medical literature and come up with her own diagnosis.
(d) Stop being friends with Lisa Shilling and start going out with Brian Morris.

5. 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. Shilling.
(b) Mrs. Frazer.
(c) Mrs. Fickett..
(d) Mrs. Goodman.

Short Answer Questions

1. Elizabeth Frazer agrees to try to help Lisa Shilling...

2. Why does Brian Morris break up his relationship with Lisa Shilling?

3. Lisa Shilling spends her six-week vacation in Florida doing what?

4. Mary Nell Fickett and Betsy Goodman compile a list of psychological conditions including paranoia, schizophrenia, split-personality, and paranoia. To whom do they think this list applies?

5. Mr. Bernstein refuses to talk to Mr. Shilling about Lisa Shilling's mental condition because...

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Why does Elizabeth Frazer gradually become the de facto decision-maker of what is and is not good for Lisa Shilling?

3. Describe Mary Nell Fickett's and Besty Goodman's initial attempts to secure professional help for their friend Lisa Shilling.

4. 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?

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

6. Why is Betsy Goodman the youngest of the major protagonists?

7. Describe Lisa on a so-called bright day and contrast that description to Lisa on a so-called dark day.

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

9. Based on the various descriptions of the four main protagonists' families, do you believe they would all go to the same public high school?

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

(see the answer keys)

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