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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 now-dead Strane appear to Vanessa on page 189?

2. What job does Vanessa get after graduating from college?

3. How does Strane describe himself on page 187?

4. How does Strane describe the allegations against him on page 187?

5. Who contacts Vanessa in the spring of 2002?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Craig, and how does Vanessa meet him? What happens between them?

2. What does Strane say to Vanessa when he calls her on page 187? How does he sound? How does she react to his call?

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

4. What happens during Vanessa’s conversation with Taylor on page 313?

5. What does Vanessa tell Ruby about the extent of her control over Strane on page 319? What does Ruby say in response?

6. 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?

7. How does Vanessa rationalize Strane’s actions on page 260?

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

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

10. What is Vanessa’s opinion of her teenage self? How does Ruby see a teenage Vanessa, as she explains on page 265?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The characters in My Dark Vanessa all highlight the idea the past is never truly past. Choose three characters and explain how each illustrates this idea, using textual evidence to support your claims.

Essay Topic 2

Vanessa experiences great change over the course of the novel. In what ways does she change and in what ways does she remain the same? By the novel’s end, is she better for these changes? What makes you say this? Explain your opinion using examples from the text.

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast Strane and Plough. How does each treat Vanessa, and how does Vanessa treat each? To what can the reader attribute such behavior? Support your answers with examples from the text.

(see the answer keys)

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