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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 object signifies that her new sleeping arrangement is just temporary?

2. Where was Maria born?

3. How is Maria playing on the lawn with the baby as Carter recalls in the beginning of the novel?

4. When BZ comes over, what does Maria ask him about Carter that he doesn't want to answer because he wants him to finish his picture?

5. What is the subject of Maria and the man's conversation as they drive to get her abortion?

Short Essay Questions

1. In the period before Maria has her abortion, what rituals does she perform in order to induce menstruation and why does she do them?

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

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

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

6. Who is Benny Austin and what does he represent in the novel?

7. What does Maria do the first month after she and Carter break up and what does it signify?

8. What is the coral snake Maria thinks about as the novel opens a metaphor of?

9. How does Maria's mother die and why is it significant?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the representation of the film industry in the novel.

1. Discuss Maria's, Carter's, and BZ's professions within the industry.

2. How is the business of movie-making portrayed?

3. What is the dominant culture of the film industry?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the importance of Maria's dreams in the novel. Choose 2 dreams and analyze their significance.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss mental illness as a theme in the novel.

1. How is treatment of mental illness represented in the novel?

2. What is Maria's familial history with mental illness?

(see the answer keys)

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