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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. How many women does the narrator have on a list of sexual conquests by his fifties?

2. What does the housekeeper give the narrator for his birthday?

3. What book helped the narrator understand his mother's mood?

4. How many of the 48 original employees of the paper are still alive?

5. The narrator's students nicknamed him Professor ___________.

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens when the narrator is the honored guest at a concert? What does he remember most from the evening?

2. How has the narrator supplemented his income over the years?

3. What is the narrator's first experience like with the girl?

4. Why does the narrator not consummate his first visit with the girl?

5. What kind of gifts does the narrator get from the newspaper staff for his birthday?

6. What is the current occupation of the narrator?

7. What evidence does the narrator give of how he is aging?

8. What is the only long term relationship in the narrator's life?

9. What was the contrast between the narrator's sex life and his regular life?

10. How does the narrator describe his writing desk?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Is the narrator in love with the girl's body, or is there some deeper meaning to their relationship for the narrator? Is there something from the narrator's past that explains his obsession with this girl? Provide quotes and examples from the book to support your statements.

Essay Topic 2

What is ironic about the narrator's ninetieth year? How does the author draw on this irony to illustrate a greater truth?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the symbolism of the shelter cat the narrator acquires. Define symbolism and support your statements with textual references.

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