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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 Plough want Vanessa to do after graduation?

2. What is subject of the papers Strane sends to Vanessa on page 326?

3. According to Vanessa on page 265, what did her teenage self do to Strane?

4. According to Vanessa on page 260, why is what Strane did to her not a crime?

5. What does Vanessa confess to Professor Plough during one meeting in his office?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Who are Jade and Charley and what impact do they have on Vanessa?

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

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

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

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

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

8. 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?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 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

As the old saying goes, “Time heals all wounds.” Does the novel support this adage, or does it prove the opposite? Answer, using textual evidence to support your claims?

(see the answer keys)

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