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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 does a columnist from the trades call to ask Maria?

2. Why does Helene have a bruise on her cheek the night after Maria drank too much?

3. Who acts as Maria's witness at Maria and Carter's divorce hearing?

4. When Maria tells BZ the she doesn't want to go to Mexico City with him and Helene to see Susannah Wood's interiors, what does BZ say?

5. Who at Christmas dinner is "preternaturally attuned to the threat of voices not even raised"?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What does Maria drop off at the doctor and why?

4. How does Maria get home from Vegas after being arrested and why is it significant?

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

6. When Carter tells Maria that his film will be showing at Cannes, how does she respond?

7. When Ivan Costello returns Maria's phone call, how does he behave and what does it signify?

8. What does Maria do after she is unsuccessful in her attempt to reach Benny in Vegas?

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

10. Why is Maria arrested in Vegas?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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

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 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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 823 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample