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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. About how old is Tony said to be?

2. What does Penny say her father used to take on boat rides for anxiety in 2016?

3. How old is Penny's father said to be in 2005?

4. What is Penny doing when she is first introduced in 2005?

5. What television show does Norm request to watch when dismissing the hospice director in 2016?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are Norm's circumstances in 2016? Where is he?

2. Who is Naomi? What are Penny's and Norm's thoughts about her?

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

4. What is the inciting incident in the novel and how does it propel the action forward?

5. What are Penny's impressions when she goes to the Stayfree house with Sorry for a potluck?

6. Why does Penny keep her family associations with Nicotine secret when she first meets the inhabitants?

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

8. What leads up to the sexual encounter between Penny and Jazz?

9. What is in the vacant bedroom across from Sorry's room? What is its history?

10. How is Amalia described when she first appears in the 2016 timeline? What is her relationship like with Penny?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss and analyze the author's language and literary style. How would you characterize the style of dialogue used by the characters? What aspects of contemporary culture are integrated into Zink's writing style? How is Zink's writing reviewed by critics?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the protest that goes awry, leading to Sorry and Penny's detention. What are the women doing when they are arrested? Why are they arrested? Where are they detained? For how long are they detained?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the importance of setting in Nicotine. Where does the main bulk of the novel take place? What is significant about this setting? How do the different settings in the story compare with one another? What moods do they evoke?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 798 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample