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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. On the day of the hearing, Helene shows Maria a ring that was a gift from whom?

2. During Christmas dinner, what gift from Felicia does Kate smash against the mirror?

3. Why does Maria move out of the house in Beverly Hills?

4. What does Maria borrow from the stuntman ten days before the film is done in the desert?

5. In Vegas, what does she take that belongs to the actor that she sleeps with?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happened the last time Maria saw her mother and how does it parallel Maria's situation?

2. How does Helene speak during Carter and Maria's divorce hearing and then after and why is it significant?

3. What does Larry Kulik tell Maria about what people are saying about her and what does it signify?

4. What did the girl Maria knew who had an abortion do to obtain one and how does she tell her story?

5. What does Maria realize about the day of the audition?

6. What happens when Maria agrees to meet a director for a new film and what does it signify?

7. How does Maria react when she begins to bleed after the abortion and why?

8. What does Maria remember about meeting BZ for the first time and what does it foreshadow?

9. What happens when Maria waits for a pay phone at the grocery store and what does it represent?

10. What is significant about Maria's meeting with Les Goodwin the day of her abortion?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the treatment of women in the novel. What roles are women valued for and why? What is the relationship between equality and power in the ways in which women are treated?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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