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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 comes to the conclusion that Alice has "the verbal skills of a" (230) what?

2. After which meal does Julia suggest the advice-seeker start to take a particular action with Alice?

3. Ellie believes that sooner or later, Julia will return to what location?

4. In what location does Julia find Max when she goes to his house in Chapter 17?

5. Cal teases Ellie about having written a letter to which celebrity in her youth?

Short Essay Questions

1. What reason does Cal give when Ellie notices his rare sense of melancholy on the evening of Christmas day?

2. What major step does Julia tell Ellie she is planning to take "the day after Christmas" (282)?

3. In what way does Ellie surprise Julia in Chapter 14 and how does Julia react to the surprise?

4. What element of the car ride with Alice bothers Alice and what does Julia decide to do about the situation?

5. Give an example of Alice's newfound expression of her personality.

6. What triumph does Julia report to Max when she goes to visit him in Chapter 17?

7. What situation within Chapter 14 cause Max to feel real fear "for the first time in seven years" (189)?

8. What hypothesis does Julia form about Alice's early childhood and why does she form it?

9. What does the narrator mean when describing Ellie as both happy and unhappy as a result of her reunion with Julia?

10. For what reason does Julia accept Max's invitation to ride on the back of his motorcycle?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Hannah's choice to tell the story of Magic Hour using a third person omniscient narrator. What elements of the novel's themes lend themselves to this choice and what are Hannah’s intended effects on the reader?

Essay Topic 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

What is the function of Cal's character within the novel? Discuss the characterization methods used by Hannah in depicting Cal and include in your discussion the reasons that Hannah portrays Cal in these particular ways.

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