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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. How old is Penny in 2005?

2. How long does Norm tell Penny she will live after he dies in 2016?

3. In 2016, Norm tells Penny, "I want to die with my boots on, like" whom (13)?

4. What group administers the Nicotine house, according to Rob?

5. What kind of activist does Rob claim to be when Penny first meets him at the Nicotine house?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the main event that takes place in the scene from 2005? Why is this event significant?

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

3. Who is Rob and how does Penny meet him?

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

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

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

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

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

9. Why is Norm's childhood home called "Nicotine"?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the characters of Jazz and Sorry in the novel. How old are these characters? What are their likes and dislikes? How well do they get along? How are they different from one another?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the theme of family dysfunction in Nicotine. How does this theme play out through the characters within Penny's family? What are her relationships with these characters? How do this theme and these characters evolve in the course of the story?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the symbolism of nicotine in the novel. What does nicotine in its various forms (chew, cigarettes, cigars, etc.) represent to the main characters? Why is the squatter house named Nicotine? How does irony apply to this name?

(see the answer keys)

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