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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 was the maiden name of Patrick and Matt's mother?

2. What does Amalia suggest Rob try in his sex life, when he confesses about his feelings of inadequacy?

3. Who books a hotel room for the former Nicotine inhabitants on their second night of flight?

4. Whose memoirs is Jazz reading when Rob goes to check in with her the morning after Sorry and Penny are released?

5. What does Matt intend to transform the Nicotine house into after the demolition?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the Norman Baker Center refer to?

2. What happens when the locksmith arrives at Nicotine?

3. Where are Jazz's housemates when Matt first comes to see her? What do they do?

4. What are "the Tombs" and how does Penny end up there?

5. What is the political atmosphere like in the main (contemporary) timeline of the novel?

6. Where does Penny get a job? What is the job and how does she feel about it?

7. What types of foods do the inhabitants of Nicotine eat? Where do they procure their food?

8. To what issue does Sorry attribute her smoking?

9. How does Penny learn about the conflict with Matt at Nicotine?

10. What is the significance of puppets in the novel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss and analyze the characters of Matt and Patrick in the novel. How old are these characters? What were their relationships like with their father? Who was their mother and what became of her?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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