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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 job out of college does Tara enjoy?

2. What are Bud and Will, his one childhood friend, obsessed with in school?

3. As a child, what did Nadia take one day after leaving Rachel's house?

4. Who is Bud's girlfriend at the end of his college years at UMASS?

5. To which city in the Philippines does Angelica take Bud for Christmas?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Tara's father, Matthew, do for a living once in Kathmandu?

2. How does Tara describe her parents' relationship with money?

3. What idea does Bud come up with for temporary employment while living at Lizzie's apartment?

4. How does Tara describe her childhood upbringing in Kathmandu?

5. When Frankie first meets Matthew, what does he tell her he wants to do?

6. After his medical treatments, what does Saul do when he arrives back home?

7. Describe how Nadia and Rachel first meet Ethan, Kirk's new boyfriend.

8. What happens when Bud runs away from home for the first time?

9. What does Tara's former boyfriend, whom she dates in her 20s, tell her about money?

10. What does Bud learn about from his childhood friendship with Sally?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing Joe's mother's idea of happiness. How did she imagine her sons to be the happiest?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay defining and analyzing the connections between money and power throughout the novel. How does Gil's relationship with money equate to unyielding power? Which other characters in the novel use money as a form of power and how do they wield it?

Essay Topic 3

Write a essay analyzing the title of the novel, Secrets of Happiness. Explain how different, key themes in the novel underscore the title of the book, allowing readers to discover what Silber suggests are the true secrets to a happy, meaningful life.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 804 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample