View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. At whose house are Lila and Elena at during their conversation in the beginning of Adolescence: Chapter 1?

2. What political party is the subject of discussion in Adolescence: Chapter 17?

3. What is Lila's age in the contemporary timeline in Chapter 3?

4. Who grabs Elena when she haughtily turns him away in Adolescence: Chapter 13?

5. What gift does Enzo give to Lila in Childhood: Chapter 12?

Short Essay Questions

1. What information does Elena learn from Rino in Chapter 3? How does she react to this information?

2. How would you describe Elena's behavior toward Rino in the phone calls in the Prologue and Chapters 1-3?

3. What is foreshadowed by the encounter between Lila, Elena, and the Solara brothers in Adolescence: Chapter 13?

4. How does Elena's first menstruation influence her relationship with Lila?

5. What is discovered when Lila's mother is called to school in Childhood: Chapter 6? Why is this significant?

6. What is foreshadowed by Lila's newfound obsession with shoemaking in Adolescence: Chapters 4-6?

7. What is related of Donato Saratorre's story in Childhood: Chapter 4?

8. What new characters are introduced in Adolescence: Chapters 7 and 8? How are they described?

9. How does Don Achille respond to Lila asking for their dolls in Childhood: Chapter 14? What is revealed of his character through is response?

10. What themes are predominant in Adolescence: Chapters 13-18?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the shoes that Lila and Rino design and create. What do the shoes represent symbolically for these characters in the novel? What do they represent to Elena and to the other characters? What is the significance of the appearance of the shoes in the end of the narrative?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and discuss the setting where Lila and Elena grow up. What year is it when the narrative of their childhood begins? What is Naples like at this time? Where in Naples do Elena and Lila live?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the author's allusions to the novel Little Women in My Brilliant Friend. What impact does this novel have on Lila and Elena? How does it influence their actions? What are common themes between Little Women and My Brilliant Friend?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 887 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample