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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. When is the initial diary entry made?

2. Who is Brian?

3. How did Anne spend the final months of her father's life?

4. What is Anne's core personality?

5. What does Anne decide about her single-parent status?

Short Essay Questions

1. Anne's thirty-sixth birthday and her deceased father's birthday complicate Anne's emotional state?

2. What does Anne share about her first few days home with Sam?

3. How does Anne end her journal of the first year of Sam's life?

4. On Sam's birthday, what does Anne recall about the day he was born?

5. What is Sam's progress during February?

6. Name the three sources of angst that fuel Anne's depression.

7. How has Anne reconciled her negative experiences during the seventh and eighth grades?

8. How has Sam's birth affected Anne and the people in her life?

9. Explain the emotional complications surrounding the legal motions initiated by Sam's father.

10. What is Anne's delivery experience?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Anne's father was also a writer and the family has a volatile income which did not provide much security. Do you think that Anne is afraid that she has inherited her father's fluctuating financial patterns as well as his gift for words? Explain what qualities Anne has that will not allow her to follow in all of her father's footsteps.

Essay Topic 2

Explain Anne's use of humor in the book. Select two of the funniest events or descriptions and explain what makes them funny to you? Do you think Anne's humor is a literary tactic? Or is it just the real Anne coming through?

Essay Topic 3

Even though Anne was not married to Sam's father they did have a relatively strong relationship and it hurt her deeply when he left after the revelation of her pregnancy. Explain the act of abandonment. How does it impact those who are left behind as well as those who leave? Is an abandoned person always expecting to be abandoned again? Explain.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 971 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample