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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 medical affliction is brought on Hope due to stress?

2. What emotion does Augusten feel after he sees the boy reading his note?

3. What does Augusten divulge that Brenda actually becomes in her adulthood?

4. Where does Deirdre's new girlfriend get most of her money?

5. What concept do Natalie and Augusten discuss as they are hitchhiking back into town?

Short Essay Questions

1. After Neil Bookman has been gone for over a year, what realization does Augusten come to about their relationship?

2. Why do the Finch family still have a Christmas tree in May?

3. What does Augusten remember about the Christmas tree that his mother brought home when Augusten was 10?

4. Halfway through the memoir, the demeanor of the Finch family home begins to change. In what ways is stress affecting the family?

5. What happens when Natalie loses her earrings in the hotel?

6. What significant event happens during Natalie and Augusten's first live performance at the mental health hospital?

7. What happens to the rest of the Finch family in the epilogue?

8. What happens when Natalie and Augusten go to visit Father Kimmel in town?

9. How do Natalie and Augusten get on at college?

10. What does Deirdre confess to Augusten that drives a wedge between him and Natalie?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The cleanliness of the Finch household and its inhabitants was often called into question by Augusten.

Part 1.) Give three examples of the dilapidation of the house and the uncleanliness inside.

Part 2.) Explain why you think the Finch family should, or should not have been expected to do better, given Dr. Finch's profession.

Essay Topic 2

Throughout most of Augusten's life, Dierdre is in tumultuous and unhealthy relationships.

Part 1.) Give examples of three relationships that Deirdre was in during Augusten's childhood and explain why they were unhealthy.

Part 2.) Explain the way that each of these relationships had a larger effect on Augusten's life and perception of love.

Essay Topic 3

The story is ultimately Augusten Burroughs' account of his childhood. Compare / contrast the boy that Augusten is in the beginning of the novel with the man that he is in the end and give one example of a scene that irrevocably changed the course of Augusten Burroughs' life.

(see the answer keys)

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