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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. Julia fills one area of Alice's bedroom with how many potted plants?

2. To what part of a "mythic, sleeping beast" (50) are the volcanoes in the Pacific Northwest compared within the text?

3. How many "white-capped volcanoes" are said to stretch "from northern Oregon to Bellingham" (50)?

4. Julia and Ellie's mother had confided in which character(s) about the deepest secrets of her marriage?

5. To what location is Alice moved once she has been sedated?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. In what way does Julia consider her mother to have been her closest ally in the family?

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

4. In what way does the theme of hope enter the narrative in relation to Julia's position as a psychiatrist?

5. What action does Julia take in Chapter 10 when Girl attempts to communicate with her for the first time?

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

7. Describe the violent encounter that occurs between Julia and Girl in Chapter 5.

8. What is the goal of the press conference held in Pine Valley in Chapter 6?

9. How does the motif of dreams enter the narrative in Chapter 8?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Hannah’s use of the motif of sound within the novel Magic Hour.

Essay Topic 2

How are the topics of romantic relationships, love, and sex treated within the novel Magic Hour and how does their treatment relate to the novel's depicted messages?

Essay Topic 3

Write a critical essay about Magic Hour while using the critical power theory lens of feminist theory. Use textual evidence to back up your strong, specific claim regarding the novel's treatment of gender roles, the objectification of women, female empowerment, misogyny's role within society, or any other issues related to feminist theory that can be found in the novel.

(see the answer keys)

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