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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 does Graham see in his office the morning Jamie's trial starts?

2. What does Cam do while he and Mia wait in the car outside the flower shop for Allie to carry in supplies?

3. On which day are Allie and Cam celebrating Valentine's Day?

4. Who is Bud Spitlick?

5. Where does Jamie finally see Maggie's ghost?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Jamie and Maggie do on their last night together?

2. What does Maggie's best friend say on the stand when the prosecutor asks her if she is angry with Jamie for killing Maggie?

3. What does Allie do when a man flirts with her at a bar where she is drinking her sorrows away?

4. What defense does the psychiatrist suggest Graham use for Jamie's case?

5. What does Allie do after discovering Cam is having an affair with Mia?

6. What does Jamie tell the prosecutor when she asks him why he didn't remove the pillow when Maggie struggled?

7. What does Ellen do to try to get Allie to forgive Cam?

8. What does Cam say and do while he is on the witness stand?

9. What happens in Cam's dream at the end of the novel?

10. What happens when Cam gets a call about a robbery in progress on Thanksgiving?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why does Picoult begin the novel with these lines from a William Carlos Williams poem: "What power has love but forgiveness?/ In other words/ by its intervention/ what has been done/ can be undone./ What good is it otherwise?" What is the significance of these words to the plot and themes of Mercy? What is the difference between forgiveness and mercy?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss how the theme of love was used in Mercy not just as romantic love, but love of country and duty to family.

Essay Topic 3

How did Allie and Cam evolve as characters from the beginning of the novel to the end?

(see the answer keys)

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