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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 was the domestic and foreign gross of the second picture Carter made with Maria?

2. According to Maria, why did her family move to Silver Wells?

3. According to Maria, what object signifies that her new sleeping arrangement is just temporary?

4. According to Maria, what did Carter do after she married him?

5. How does Maria respond to Carter's statement about always dining out?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What kind of man was Maria's father and what impact did it have on Maria?

3. What does Maria do when she moves to New York and why is it significant?

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

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

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

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

8. 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?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the Point of View in the novel.

1. Discuss the rotating points of views in the novel:

a. Maria's third person and first person point of views.

b. Helene's point of view.

c. Carter's point of view.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss loss as a major theme in the novel. What has Maria lost in her life and how does she cope with loss?

(see the answer keys)

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