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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. What holiday are Lila and Elena celebrating during their conversation in the beginning of Adolescence: Chapter 1?

2. Who does Elena see in the end of Adolescence: Chapter 18, causing her affections for him to become reignited?

3. Where is Elena from?

4. What mountain does Elena describe seeing when she accompanies her father to work in Adolescence: Chapter 14?

5. How is Melina Cappuccio related to Lila?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What leads to the family feuds and violence that erupts in Childhood: Chapters 8 and 9?

3. What questions does Donato Sarratore's book of poetry elicit after its publication?

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

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

6. How would you describe Elena's relationship with her parents in the novel?

7. How does Lila's behavior toward Elena change once Lila is no longer in school?

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

9. How does the onset of adolescence affect both Lila and Elena?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the character of Carmela Peluso. When does Carmela become friends with Lila and Elena? How would you characterize her personality and actions? How does Carmela's friendship affect the friendship between Lila and Elena?

Essay Topic 2

Why is Lila not allowed to pursue her education after elementary school? How does this impact her? How does it affect Lila's relationship with Elena?

Essay Topic 3

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?

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