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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. According to Maria, what was "something no one in the city liked to be near"?

2. Maria's mother ran her car off the highway outside of what town?

3. What was the studio cut of the second picture Carter made with Maria?

4. What type of bird does Maria watch at the hospital as the novel opens?

5. What does Maria eat and drink during her new pastime?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What does Maria's unannounced visit to her agent, Freddy Chaikin, reveal about her profession as an actress and the business of movie-making?

3. What is the location of Maria's abortion and what does it represent?

4. When Maria asks if Carter and she are separated when he returns home, how does he respond and why is it significant?

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

6. Why does Carter tell Maria tell Kate that it is not good for her to visit Kate unannounced and what does it reveal about Kate's treatment?

7. What does Maria do when she arrives in Baker, the location where Carter is shooting, and what does it represent?

8. As the novel opens, where is Maria Wyeth and why is it significant?

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

10. Where does Maria begin to sleep after her breakup with Carter 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 class in the novel.

1. What is the impact of class mobility on the characters?

2. How are differences in class represented?

Essay Topic 3

Choose two characters and address how they communicate their thoughts and feelings to one another. Are they effective communicators? Why?

(see the answer keys)

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