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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. Who did the narrator meet during her darkest years who helped improve her life?

2. How does the narrator describe the freedom that L's painting emanated?

3. With whom did L live while his father was dying?

4. How are the people with whom L lived while his father died described?

5. To whom is the narrator speaking in Second Place?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does L behave at the harbor town when M and Tony first meet him?

2. In what ways did L and Tony's early experiences with death manifest differently in each man?

3. Describe L and M's first interaction the morning after he arrived at the second place. How did she feel about him? How did he make her feel?

4. Whose portrait did L tell M he wanted to paint? How did she feel that he did not wish to paint her? What did she say to him about this?

5. Where did M and Tony pick up L? What did Justine and Kurt do while they were away?

6. What did Tony find after clearing the adjacent land he bought near the marsh? What did he do there?

7. Where did L stay instead of coming to the second place? What happened to him while there? Where did he invite M during that winter?

8. Who is the narrator speaking to at the start of the novel? What does she say happened while on a train in Paris?

9. What does the narrator say her first experience with L coincided with? What did she think L's visit would do in terms of her recovery?

10. How does the narrator describe the man she met on the train in Paris? What was he doing? Why did she not say something?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay exploring who Jeffers may be. Indicate who you think Jeffers is using textual evidence to back your argument.

Essay Topic 2

Away from the main character examine the way the author uses the other characters in the story. When does she introduce and take them away from the story? What effect does it have on the story?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay analyzing narrative voice in Cusk of Second Place. Include thoughts on how the narrative voice of the story is effective in conveying the story’s themes.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 810 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample