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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 does Vanessa’s mother see on page 184 that confirms the truth of the relationship between Vanessa and Strane?

2. How does Vanessa attempt to avoid having sex with Strane on page 102?

3. How does Vanessa feel after complying with Strane’s requestion page 133?

4. When an article about Strane appears in a Portland newspaper on page 148, how many students have now accused Strane of abuse?

5. Whose dog does Vanessa walk in order to go past Strane’s house?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Vanessa tell her mother about Jacob on page 135, and how does her mother respond?

2. What strange gift does Strane give to Vanessa when she first goes to visit him at his house?

3. What happens at the Halloween dance on page 62?

4. What procedure does Strane reveal he has had on page 102, and why does he reveal this information?

5. Who is Taylor Birch and what does she post to Facebook, as Vanessa discovers at the opening of the novel?

6. Whose poetry does Strane give Vanessa to read while she is still his student? What is the effect of this poetry on Vanessa?

7. What early interactions between Vanessa and Strane suggest that he is grooming her for abuse? What is the effect of these actions on Vanessa?

8. What novel does Strane give Vanessa and what effect does it have on Vanessa?

9. What odd request does Strane make a Vanessa on page 133? How does she respond?

10. Who is Dolores Haze and what does she represent to Vanessa, as explained on page 76?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the symbol of the strawberry and cream pajamas in My Dark Vanessa. How does it represent Jacob Strane, his relationship with Vanessa, and the themes of the novel as a whole?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Vanessa’s journey toward healing and recovery. How does it ebb and flow? How does she make progress and fall behind? What does this say about an individual’s path to recovery?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay explaining the significance of the title of the novel, My Dark Vanessa. How does the title reflect the main characters? How does the title reflect the novel’s themes and conflicts? How does the title’s meaning change over the course of the novel?

(see the answer keys)

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