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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 literary device is used in the following sentence from the book: "Norm's death is a runaway train" (701)?

2. What drug does Matt say he was coming off from when he had a dispute with Penny in 2005?

3. Who wrote The Gender of the Gift?

4. What does the middle-aged American man wear around his neck in the opening of the novel?

5. What drug does Sorry claim cigarettes have replaced for her when she meets Penny?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Where is Norm's childhood home located? What is its history?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

10. How is Matt's relationship with his father characterized in 2005?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze and discuss the characters of Norm and Amalia in Nicotine. With which parent was Penny closer growing up? Why? How have Penny's relationships with her parents changed over time?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze and discuss the character of Penny Baker as the protagonist in Nicotine. How old is Penny? What are her objectives in the narrative? What obstacles does she face? How does she change as a result of her experiences?

Essay Topic 3

Identify and discuss three symbols in Nicotine. What does each symbol represent? How does the symbol connect to the novel's overarching themes? What characters are connected to each symbol?

(see the answer keys)

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