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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. How many days does Maria realize she has not been bleeding?

2. According to Helene, what is Maria's manner like when she sees her by the swimming pool at the hospital as the novel opens?

3. What does Carter threaten Maria with if she does NOT have an abortion?

4. According to Carter, who besides him, Maria, and the possible father, does NOT know about the affair?

5. Why does Maria prefer the studio cut of the second picture Carter made with her?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Kate live in a facility for special needs children?

2. Who is Paulette and what is Maria's relationship to her?

3. How does Maria feel after her abortion and what does it signify?

4. What kind of arrangements does Maria have to make in order to terminate her pregnancy at this time?

5. Where does Maria begin to sleep after her breakup with Carter and why is it significant?

6. What are the two films Maria has starred in that Carter has made and how does she feel about them?

7. What memory does Carter have of Maria and the baby and what does it reveal about Maria?

8. What is the tone of Helene's recollections of Maria and why is it significant?

9. How do Larry Kulik and BZ behave around the girl in the white halter dress at a party Maria attends and why is it significant?

10. Where did Maria grow up and why is it significant?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the importance of rituals in the novel.

1. What rituals does Maria enact and why?

2. What is the relationship between ritual and superstition?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the role of friendship in the novel.

1. What is the nature of Maria and Helene's friendship?

2. What is the nature of Maria and BZ's relationship?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the relationship between mothers and daughters in the novel.

1. What is the nature of Maria and Kate's relationship?

2. What is the nature of Maria and her mother's relationship?

(see the answer keys)

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