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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 radios Ellie to tell her to come to Chief Sealth City Park once she reaches Magnolia Street and sees nothing?

2. Which character is sent by Ellie to the diner to fetch a hot meal that may lure Girl out of the maple tree?

3. When Julia conducts research about feral children, she finds that the most recent case had involved a child referred to by what name?

4. In what way is Frank associated with Julia?

5. In what state does Julia live when the narrative first begins?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what way does Hannah connect the theme of secrecy to the nature of small towns?

2. How does a maple tree figure into Chapter 3 and into the discovery of Girl?

3. From whose perspective is the novel narrated when Chapter 1 opens?

4. What is the outcome of Judge Myerson's decision regarding Julia's culpability for Amber's horrific acts?

5. What coping mechanism does Julia use to deal with the feelings evoked by seeing her ballerina music box in her childhood room?

6. Name two things the media is said to have ignored about Julia's situation.

7. Who is Amber and what had she done prior to the novel's opening?

8. Provide an example of Julia feeling rejected by her father in her youth.

9. How is the theme of isolation linked to a particular character within the narrative?

10. What is elective mutism?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze Magic Hour from an Existential perspective. What elements of life does it suggest hold the most meaning and why?

Essay Topic 2

What message does Magic Hour send about the American media and how does this message connect to another theme within the text?

Essay Topic 3

William Faulkner once famously claimed that the most important literature deals with the subject of the human heart in conflict with itself. Explain how the theme of Human versus Self is demonstrated within Hannah’s novel Magic Hour. Create a decisive, arguable claim and prove it with quotes from the novel.

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