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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 port city stands in the background of the 13-year-old girl who is introduced in the opening of the novel?

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

3. Where does Barry say he is from at the Tranquility house?

4. About how old is Tony said to be?

5. What is Sorry's real name?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Define satire and irony and discuss how these terms apply to Nicotine. What are examples of dramatic irony in the story? What verbal irony can be seen? How does the author incorporate situational irony in the narrative?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the journey made by Rob, Jazz, and Sorry in the novel. Where do they go? Why are they fleeing Jersey City? What destination do they finally arrive at? Where do they go in the ending of the novel?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 815 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample