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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. At all costs, Irene does not want to
(a) Walk in the snow.
(b) Offend Clare.
(c) Lose Felise as a friend.
(d) Lose Brian.

2. Clare is upset that she will have to leave New York to
(a) Get back into white society.
(b) See her daughter in Switzerland.
(c) Retrieve her daughter from Switzerland.
(d) Rejoin her husband in Switzerland.

3. In this section, Clare is now
(a) Staying in Irene's extra room.
(b) Sneaking about with Brian.
(c) Back with her husband.
(d) A godparent to the children.

4. Helga has developed a new appreciation for
(a) Hard work.
(b) Naxos and its efforts.
(c) New York and its excitement.
(d) The black southerners and their simplicity.

5. Why is Irene offended by Clare's use of a PO Box for a return address?
(a) It implies Clare thinks Irene would be indiscreet.
(b) It shows Clare's devious nature.
(c) She is hiding her real address.
(d) It implies that Clare is being sarcastic.

Short Answer Questions

1. Brian demands that Irene not

2. Helga finds some satisfaction in

3. When Clare falls from the window, Irene cries with

4. Brian demands that Irene

5. Helga's most recent infant

Short Essay Questions

1. What role, if any, does Clare's husband play in the story so far? Is he a comforting presence? Why, or why not? Is he a likable character?

2. What do we learn about the marriage of Irene and Brian Redfield in this chapter? Is it healthy? Is it durable? Why, or why not?

3. Is there anything we can deduce about Irene's response to Clare's letter without knowing the whole story? If so, what are they?

4. Speculate on why Clare is silent at the Redfield dinner table, but talkative and gregarious a parties with others. Does she have a split personality, or is she just shy at the Redfields'? How does Larsen let on what is going on without saying it?

5. Things have taken a turn for the worse at the Redfields'. What are the clues that the story is inching toward a conclusion as it pertains to the Redfields and Clare Kendry? What conclusions can we draw about this section of the story?

6. What is it that has kept Clare from leaving her husband and living permanently in Harlem?

7. Why do you suppose Clare is pushing herself so rigorously to get involved in Irene's life? Why has she not chosen, for instance, Gertrude, to reacquaint her with the black culture? What is the particular attraction to Irene?

8. Discuss Helga's new exuberance as the wife of a minister.

9. What is the burden that these characters carry with them throughout the story?

10. What kind of parent is Clare Kendry? What are the clues, thus far, that help us to draw conclusions about her parenting abilities? How has Larsen informed us about this?

(see the answer keys)

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