View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Helene see Maria wearing when she visits the hospital as the novel opens?

2. After learning of her mother's death, what did Maria do for a month?

3. What is the name of the street where the doctor Maria went to see about the pregnancy practices?

4. How does Maria pronounce her name?

5. According to Maria, "_______always spoke on the telephone as if a spurious urgency could mask her radical lack of interest in talking to anyone."

Short Essay Questions

1. When Maria tells Carter that she is pregnant and that he may not be the father, how does he respond and why is it significant?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

10. In the period before Maria has her abortion, what does she think about her mother's death and why is it significant?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the setting of the novel.

1. What role does the setting have in relation to the plot?

2. What is the relationship between the landscape and character development?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the portrayal of marriage in the novel.

Compare and contrast Maria and Carter's marriage with BZ and Helene's marriage. What are their similarities and differences?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the representation of the health industry in the novel.

1. How are medical professionals portrayed?

2. How are patient rights represented?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 717 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample