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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 does Mimi buy Sarah to wear at Misty's funeral?

2. What does Alice do with Waldo on the way home from Playhouse Heaven?

3. How is Ben driving in Part III?

4. Why does Shenkman want to sell the house in 2020?

5. Where is Alice in 2020?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Ben realize fairly soon after the car accident in 1985?

2. What does Waldo say is watching over him and Mimi?

3. What kind of relationship do Mimi and Ben have in their marriage?

4. What does Shenkman realize in Part III when he goes to check on Waldo in the morning?

5. When does Ben get the angriest he has been in his life?

6. What is the legend around the tree in the Wilf's front yard?

7. What does Shenkman do when he first meets Theo?

8. What does Ben tell Waldo about his night in the playhouse with Mimi?

9. What does Theo name his second restaurant that he opens?

10. What does Alice do after Waldo runs away?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Shapiro incorporate elements of the supernatural into her novel? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

How does Shapiro highlight the challenges women have faced in managing paid work and their responsibilities and roles as unpaid caregivers of children and aging parents throughout the novel? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

Why do you think Shapiro chooses to switch her focus between the Shenkman family and the Wilf family? Write an essay explaining your answers.

(see the answer keys)

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