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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 poet does Melissa quote after Michael tells her his news in Chapter 9?

2. How does Stephanie suggest to Melissa that men and women may have been meant to live in Chapter 12?

3. What is Damian reading in Chapter 12?

4. How does Damian feel about Melissa after sleeping over at her house in Chapter 10?

5. What is Melissa reading in Chapter 12?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Damian starting to fall apart emotionally in Chapter 10?

2. What two things happen to Ria immediately after Christmas that further deepen Melissa's suspicion that they are being haunted?

3. What does Michael begin to realize about Rachel almost immediately after he begins a sexual affair with her in Chapter 8?

4. What does Melissa think about her house at 13 Paradise Row after the exterminator comes back for a visit in Chapter 8?

5. What does Melissa come to believe even more strongly in Chapter 13 about her house and its effect on her?

6. What happens at the end of Chapter 13 that is shocking and horrifying for both Melissa and Michael?

7. What are the circumstances under which Michael and Rachel have their first sexual encounter?

8. Where does Justin actually die?

9. What is Stephanie trying to work with her daughter Avril on in Spain on vacation?

10. Why does Michael resist the idea of moving away from London to a suburb?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How do the origins and early days of Melissa's and Michael's relationship, and the dynamics therein, predict some of the problems the two experience much later on? Write an essay explaining your answer.

Essay Topic 2

How is the middle-aged woman who performs the Greek dance at Ria's school's annual cultural night different from Michael, Melissa, Stephanie, and Damian? What does the woman, and her joyful, free dancing, represent? Write an essay explaining your answer.

Essay Topic 3

What does the idea of the "night things," which Evans explains repeatedly throughout the novel, represent? Write an essay explaining your answer, citing specific references to the text to support your arguments.

(see the answer keys)

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