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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 does Betsy Goodman conclude in the definition of madness?

2. After Betsy Goodman, Mary Nell Fickett, and Elizabeth Frazer feel they have not been able to help Lisa Shilling, what does Mrs. Goodman advise them to do?

3. According to Mary Nell Fickett, why do teenagers like to drink coffee and smoke cigarettes?

4. What does Lisa Shilling hope to accomplish by walking deliberately through a floor-to-ceiling window?

5. Mary Nell Fickett says that Lisa Shilling's behavior is "ridiculous...[for]...two reasons" (p. 67). What are the two reasons?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe some of Lisa Shilling's self-destructive behaviors.

2. Betsy Goodman meets with Mr. Bernstein several times and he explains why he cannot become involved. Yet she continues to turn to him for help. Why does Betsy continue to attempt to rely on Mr. Bernstein?

3. What actions does Lisa Shilling take to attempt to convince her parents that she needs professional help?

4. Describe Lisa Shilling's punctuality and dependability.

5. The Reverend Fickett makes a personal attempt to have Lisa Shilling's condition accepted and treated. With Mr. Milne, a school teacher, he calls upon Mr. Shilling directly. His attempt meets with failure as Mr. Shilling stonewalls him. Should Rev. Fickett have done anything differently? Should Rev. Fickett have given up when he did?

6. Mary Nell Fickett believes that she might fully master the study of abnormal psychology by reading many books. Describe Mary Nell's reasoning and comment upon it.

7. Is Betsy Goodman a reliable narrator?

8. After Lisa Shilling deliberately walks through a glass window she is hospitalized with fairly serious injuries. She remains in the hospital for at least a few days. Mary Nell Fickett assumes that this suicide attempt necessarily will involve social workers who will force Mr. and Mrs. Shilling to confront Lisa's mental illness. However, this does not occur. Why?

9. How does Betsy Goodman's focus on movie stars help develop the plot?

10. If you were in Lisa's situation, to whom would you turn for help?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Imagine you are on a jury deciding the apportionment of 'blame' for Lisa's worsening condition. Which character of the novel would you select to receive the lion's share of the blame for Lisa spending many months with worsening symptoms without receiving adequate professional help. For this exercise, you may not select Mr. or Mrs. Shilling. Explain and defend your selection.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

The novel presents four teenage girls who begin the year thinking about boys, dating, and sexuality. As the year progresses they think more and more about mental illness and less and less about dating. Discuss elements of sexuality within the novel--why are characters attracted to each other? Is Betsy attracted only to looks? Or does she have a deeper understanding of sexuality? Will she be successful as a married housewife?

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This section contains 1,481 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample