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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 happens with Tateh and his little girl after they left the Goldman lecture?

2. What does Evelyn receive in her divorce settlement?

3. With whom is Father planning to travel to the North Pole?

4. After a second trial, what sentence does Harry K. Shaw receive?

5. What is worrying Mother back in New Rochelle?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is it that Evelyn Nesbit does not understand when she sees The Girl tied to her father?

2. What happens when Tateh is working in the Mills in Lawrence, Massachusetts?

3. What does newspaperman Riis find when he goes to the docks to interview Stanford white about housing for the poor?

4. What causes Harry K. Shaw to propose marriage to Evelyn Nesbit?

5. How is Father sent off on his trip with the Perry expedition to the North Pole?

6. What are Tateh's plans for him and The Girl as they leave New York?

7. Why is Houdini thrown out of Bellevue Hospital?

8. How does Evelyn lose The Girl?

9. What crime is Harry K. Shaw accused of committing?

10. Explain how Harry K. Shaw gets to see Harry Houdini.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write about Harry Houdini's fixation on finding a way to communicate with his dead mother. The attachment of Houdini to his mother is a documented fact. He also spent the rest of his life looking for someone who could make contact with the dead. In the process he became an authority on fakes and charlatans who claimed special powers to channel the dead. In your paper, explain why you think Doctorow used Houdini as a major character in the book? Point out the societal changes that were happening at that time that Houdini symbolizes.

Essay Topic 2

Write a paper on the subject of art as seen in the novel. Take it from Tateh's silhouettes to Morgan's collection. Tateh's cutout silhouettes and movie books are art for the people. On the other hand, Morgans fabulous art collection are limited to the upper classes. Tateh's art leads him to film animation and making movies. Morgan's art is nearly destroyed in one quick action. Mother's association with art is limited to putting up Egyptian wallpaper. Your paper should discuss how art influences people and the value of art as an equalizer.

Essay Topic 3

Write your opinion of E. L. Doctorow's writing style. Include such things as his omitting quotation marks and writing in very short sentences. Cite specific passages in the novel that you think either did or did not convey (1) the feeling of the characters, (2) the imagery of the day, (3) the suspense of the plot, or any other concept you feel the novel addresses. How much does Doctorow's use of fictionalized real characters add to the interest of the novel?

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