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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. Whom does Professor Plough know on the Browick staff?

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

3. In what grade was Vanessa when Strane had his vasectomy, as revealed on page 226?

4. According to Vanessa on page 319, what does Vanessa believe about her role in Strane’s abuse of other girls?

5. How does Vanessa describe her living situation with her roommate on page 268?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Bridget? Describe her relationship with Vanessa.

2. What does Vanessa learn from Jenny in the spring of 2002?

3. Why does Vanessa judge Henry Plough to be untrustworthy?

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

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

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

7. Who is Jo and how does she get her name?

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 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

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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