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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 gives Elizabeth a renewed sense of hope?

2. Where does Elizabeth travel to straight after breaking up with her boyfriend?

3. What are Elizabeth's main symptoms in Stillman?

4. Where in Texas does she move to?

5. How does Elizabeth get food poisoning?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do Manuel and Elizabeth finally get together?

2. Elizabeth is finally diagnosed with atypical depression. Describe what this disease is.

3. How does Elizabeth react to her miscarriage afterwards?

4. Describe Elizabeth's first conversation with Rafe on the phone. Why does she say she's calling him? Why do they continue talking?

5. What does Elizabeth's mom tell her that makes her disease become a reality to her?

6. How does Elizabeth feel when she first arrives in Dallas?

7. Why does Elizabeth refuse to appear on the Oprah! show?

8. How do the doctors react when Elizabeth is brought into the hospital covered in blood?

9. Elizabeth says there are two types of dysfunctional families. What are they?

10. Why is Elizabeth's mother disappointed in her when she comes to visit her in Dallas?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Wurtzel jumps from doctor to doctor when her mental health begins to deteriorate at age 12. What kind of impact do you think this has on her development and diagnosis of the disease? Do you think the impact is positive or negative? Why? Use specific examples with various doctors to support your theory.

Essay Topic 2

Why do you think Rafe and Elizabeth's relationship worked as well as it did for a time? Explain why their relationship worked due to Rafe's personal family history and how it fit in with Elizabeth's mental state.

Essay Topic 3

At various points in her life, Elizabeth will feel extreme highs followed by extreme lows. How is this conveyed in the novel? How are the words chosen, descriptions and tone combined together in order to convey the highs or lows of her life at any point in the novel. Use three specific examples to demonstrate an emotional period for her and how the writing helped to demonstrate the emotion during that time.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 790 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample