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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 subject is taught by the teacher who flirts with Connell?

2. What is the name of the teacher who flirts with Connell?

3. What is NOT a widely-held belief about Connell at school?

4. As a child, Marianne reacted in what way to her mother's influence?

5. Which of the following people earns a perfect score of 600 on exams?

Short Essay Questions

1. What event occurs just prior to Marianne's decision to quit high school?

2. How is the theme of self-deception demonstrated within the novel?

3. What advice does Marianne give Connell about college?

4. What are the conditions under which Connell tells Marianne that he loves her?

5. Describe Lorraine's appearance and manner.

6. What are the physical differences between Lorraine and Connell?

7. When the reader joins Connell in the fall of his first year of college, to what changes has he had to adapt?

8. What comment of Marianne's does Connell repeat to himself and why?

9. What comment does Marianne make about her appearance when she sees Connell for the first time since high school and how does he react?

10. To what action of Rob's does Connell object and why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the interplay between the resolution of Normal People and one of the novel's main messages. How does Rooney make connections between these elements and how does their juxtaposition help them get across one main message of the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss how and why Rooney instills three different humanist messages into the narrative of Normal People.

Essay Topic 3

Could Normal People be classified as a coming-of-age story? Why or why not?

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