View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Carmel learn during her psychedelic therapy?

2. While Yao is sedated and dreaming, who tells him to wake up?

3. In what is Frances riding during her psychedelic vision?

4. What do the guests realize about the sounds of the fire?

5. Masha changed her life forever when she lost whom?

Short Essay Questions

1. What has Zoe read during the retreat? What does she tell Frances about it? How does she really feel?

2. What does Carmel tell Frances about her life before children in Chapter 60?

3. How is the object discovered in the rafters, and how do the guests retrieve it?

4. What happens to Ben and Jessica during psychedelic therapy? What news does Jessica share in Chapter 43?

5. What does Ben realize about his marriage following the psychedelic therapy?

6. How does Jessica's announcement disrupt her marriage in Chapter 52? What does Jessica realize as a result?

7. How do the guests react to Masha drugging them?

8. What prompts the guests to experience a "dark night of the soul"? What does Tony learn during this time?

9. What plans had Masha had for herself following the success of her new protocol?

10. Who visits Zoe while she is undergoing the psychedelic therapy? What happens?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

At one point in the novel, Masha wants the guests to consider the koan “Show me your original face, the one you had before your parents were born” (132). Discuss the meaning of this koan and how it might apply to two characters in the novel.

Essay Topic 2

What do you think the future has in store for Masha after the close of the novel? Predict Masha’s future based on her thoughts and actions over the course of the novel.

Essay Topic 3

Appearances in the novel can be deceiving. How do appearances differ from reality in this novel? Discuss three characters and how this idea applies to each.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 751 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample