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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 type of women populate the literature in Plough’s seminar class, as explained on page 321?

2. In what type of office does Taylor work?

3. Where does Plough accost Strane?

4. How does Vanessa describe her relationship with Strane on page 192?

5. What does Vanessa receive in the mail in the wake of Strane’s death?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Vanessa feel a need to see Strane, as explained on page 267? What does she get from it? How is this adoration function like a drug?

2. What does Janine tell Vanessa on page 232, and how does Vanessa feel about Janine’s choice of words?

3. What does Vanessa reveal to Henry Plough regarding her time at Browick? What connection to Browick does Plough reveal?

4. Who is Henry Plough? How does Vanessa compare him to Strane on page 272?

5. How does Jo keep Vanessa in the present moment, as explained on page 369?

6. How does Vanessa feel regarding her impending graduation from college? What does Strane say about it on page 270?

7. What does Strane demand of Vanessa following his interaction with Plough?

8. How is Vanessa’s mother haunted by the past, as revealed by Jan Wye on page 363?

9. How does Strane react to his encounter with Plough? How does Vanessa react to it?

10. How does Strane describe the student accusing him of assault on page 306?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing how the author uses characters and behaviors to develop and strengthen the murky issue of consent.

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the characters of Ms. Thompson, Mrs. Antonova, and Mrs. Giles. How do these characters attempt to help Vanessa in the novel? How do they unwittingly harm her? How do they further develop the novel’s themes?

(see the answer keys)

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