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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. Where does Keith Landry meet Annie Baxter?

2. What led to the split between Keith and Annie?

3. Who is Billy Marlon?

4. What are the policemen doing at the meeting?

5. What do Keith Landry and his friends drink at dinner in Chapter 11?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens when Annie confronts Cliff Baxter?

2. Describe Keith Landry's experience at the Landry family Labor Day gathering.

3. How does the narrator describe the Porters' way of life?

4. What was Keith Landry's career before taking forced retirement?

5. How does Annie Baxter conclude that her husband is having an affair?

6. What is Cliff Baxter's reaction when he hears that Keith Landry is back in town?

7. What is Cliff Baxter's relationship with Sherry Kolarik?

8. Descartes the meeting Gail Porter put together.

9. What happens on the night of Keith Landry's meeting with Cliff Baxter?

10. Describe the relationship between Annie and Cliff Baxter.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Who is the audience for Spencerville, and what are their expectations for a novel? Do you think Spencerville satisfies this audience? Would it satisfy readers who were used to other kinds of novels? What would a romance reader, or a literary fiction reader likely think of this book?

Essay Topic 2

Write a character sketch of the author based on his style and content. What values does he hold dear? What are his hopes and fears? What kind of person do you think he is? Anchor your sketch in passages in the book.

Essay Topic 3

What does the relationship between Cliff Baxter and his wife show us about Annie's personality? How do you account for the violence of Annie's relationship with Cliff Baxter? What led her from Keith Landry to Cliff Baxter--or, how did she permit the transformation that turned Cliff Baxter from someone she could respect into someone who terrorized her?

(see the answer keys)

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