View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Where does Rufus say he started learning about oppression?
(a) The Navy.
(b) The Coast Guard.
(c) English Lit. 101.
(d) The Army.

2. Where does Sorry invite Penny to go with her for a potluck?
(a) The ACLU.
(b) Tranquility.
(c) Stayfree.
(d) The DJD.

3. Approximately how old does Amalia say she is at the time of Norm's death?
(a) 38.
(b) 43.
(c) 46.
(d) 61.

4. What was Jazz out of town to visit prior to meeting Penny?
(a) A freelancer's union convention.
(b) A publishing conference.
(c) A women's poetry book collective.
(d) A medical conference.

5. What word used in the novel refers to the practice among those with power or influence favoring relatives or friends by giving them jobs?
(a) Nepotism.
(b) Anarchy.
(c) Despotism.
(d) Egalitarianism.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who wrote The Gender of the Gift?

2. What do Sorry and Penny prepare to take to the potluck?

3. Where is the hospital that Norm is housed at in 2016?

4. What does "DJD" stand for in the novel?

5. The five tall pale men described walking from a burning Christmas tree in the beginning of the novel are said to be just south of what city in New York?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Penny's Manhattan apartment described? Why is she forced to vacate it?

2. What happens when Norm encounters Schubert in 2016? How does Penny interpret this action?

3. How is Norm's childhood home described when Penny finds it in 2016?

4. What happens when Matt comes to confront the squatters at Nicotine the first time?

5. What is the relationship like between Matt and Penny?

6. Who is present when Norm dies? How is this event described?

7. What characters are present in the opening scene of the novel? What is their significance in the plot of the story?

8. Where is the opening scene of the novel set? What is the significance of this setting?

9. Who are the inhabitants at Nicotine when Penny first visits?

10. What is the symbolic significance of the water glasses that recur in the story?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 785 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample