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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. Lisa Shilling's conversation with her parents opens the novel. Lisa tries to talk to her parents about something important. Lisa's mother, Mrs. Shilling, responds by doing what?

2. Betsy Goodman asks Jeremy Bernstein about Lisa Shilling's mental illness. Bernstein responds by...

3. Why does Lisa wait until her friend is present to talk about a serious medical condition with her parents?

4. The narrator states that Lisa Shilling's oldest friend is...

5. 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?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. In what is Mr. Shilling primarily interested?

3. Why is chapter one presented in italic type face?

4. What kind of a job does Rev. Fickett do as a church reverend?

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

6. Why do Mr. and Mrs. Shilling ignore their daughter's repeated assertions that she is mentally ill?

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

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

9. Why does Lisa Shilling tell her parents that she thinks she is mentally ill in front of her friend Mary Nell Fickett?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Elizabeth Frazer was diagnosed with an unspecified but severe mental illness at about age twelve or thirteen. She spent four years committed in an asylum under the care of Dr. Neil Donovan. She then moves to the town of the novel's primary setting and lives there for about a year or perhaps two. Immediately, she is noticed by Lisa Shilling who feels some type of affinity for her because they both somehow share the bond of mental illness. Discuss this strange attraction. Is it credible? How might it arise? Why does Elizabeth not run away from Lisa as representative of a past she herself has struggled with?

Essay Topic 2

The novel features a few construction elements that make the exact identify of the narrator ambiguous in some portions. Describe who you think is the narrator of the novel. Can the narrator be identified as a single character? Is the narrator reliable?

Essay Topic 3

Which character causes the most harm to Lisa Shilling--Mr. Bernstein, Mr. Shilling, or Mrs. Shilling? Explain and defend your selection.

(see the answer keys)

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