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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. How does Joe's mother respond to Jack's catastrophic situation?

2. What song does Ethan's mother enjoy singing during parties at their apartment when he is younger?

3. What happens after Veronica visits Joe's apartment late one night?

4. What is Ethan's college boyfriend's name?

5. On page 8, how does Ethan describe his sister?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do Maribel and Schuyler first meet each other?

2. After Gil suffers from a second stroke, where does he go and who takes care of him?

3. At the beginning of Chapter 2, how can Joe's relationship with his high school girlfriend, Veronica, be described?

4. After Ethan phones his mother to say Gil probably missed her, how does Abby react?

5. How does Ethan react to his father's secret?

6. In Chapter 3, how is the hotel described that Schuyler and the crew stay in?

7. Why do Schuyler and Maribel start crying after hearing the historian give a lecture about nineteenth century working conditions?

8. What does Maribel say she gets out of her relationship with Schuyler?

9. Why does Schuyler's brother, Tad, phone Maribel after Schuyler's death?

10. What does Maribel say about Schuyler's mind in Chapter 3? What does she say about her own self in comparison to him?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Chapter 3, Maribel became increasingly resentful of Schuyler's disregard for the consequences of his actions. He has another life back in New York, which Maribel knows she will never be a part of. In what ways was Maribel's situation similar and dissimilar from Nok's? How did wealth harm Nok and Maribel through each of their lover's actions?

Essay Topic 2

Joe expresses that his mother was a Buddhist yet was "bribing the cycle of karma with petty cash" (80). Write an essay analyzing Joe and his mother's relationship with Buddhism in the novel.

Essay Topic 3

In Chapter 1, after discovering the news about her husband's second family, Ethan's mother decides to travel to Thailand to teach English. Ethan explains how in one message from his mother, he noted how her tone shifted from dull and unenthused to happy and wondrous. Analyze the shift in tone in his mother's messages and what it reveals about her finding happiness.

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This section contains 956 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample