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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 does the Thanksgiving dinner host prepare for Theresa's arrival?

2. In Chapter 12, when Theresa leaves Garrett's house, where is Garret left standing alone?

3. What does Theresa do inside the house while Garrett cooks the meat during their third date?

4. Where had Kevin returned home from when the book first introduces him?

5. Where does Garrett bring Theresa and Kevin to give them their first diving lesson?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are Garrett's feelings at the start of Chapter 10?

2. What does Garrett fail to do the night his father visits him?

3. What difference can you see between the conversation during dinner and the one at the beach in Chapter 5?

4. Why do you think Garrett leaves the bedroom in the middle of the first night Theresa spends at his home ?

5. What did Garrett do after his first night with Theresa?

6. What are Garrett's feelings after spending another weekend with Theresa?

7. How does the diving lesson go for Kevin and Theresa?

8. Who visits Garrett after he comes back from Boston?

9. How does the relationship between Theresa and Garrett evolve in Chapter 8?

10. Why does Garrett's father visit him in his shop at the start of Chapter 10?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In "Message in a Bottle," the setting is used to add conflict in the relationship between Theresa and Garrett. Discuss the separation Theresa and Garrett face, as well as the impact on each character. How does having two settings create conflict? Provide examples and quotes from the story to support your discussion.

Essay Topic 2

Setting can deepen the story line and help deepen your characters' traits. In the novel, "A Message in a Bottle," the sailboat acts as one of the settings in the story and is important to many major scenes in the novel. Define setting in your essay and then discuss how it contributes to the story and the character development. What does the sailboat represent in "Message in a Bottle?" Why does the sailboat's destruction have importance in the novel? Provide a few examples from the story to help support your statements.

Essay Topic 3

Why doesn't Theresa mention the letters when she first meets Garrett? Do you think their relationship could have evolved if she had? Do you think they would have moved as quickly? Support your discussion and opinions with quotes from the text and feel free to use secondary sources from well known critics.

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