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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 Jess have a picture of hanging in her locker at work?

2. What happens to make Jess want to leave Buffalo for good?

3. How long has it been since Jess has seen Edna?

4. Which of the following does Jess decide to speak up for?

5. What medication is Jess given after her breast reduction surgery?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the conditions of factories in the 1970s, which is ten years after Jess has been working in them.

2. Why does Ruth have trepidation about returning to Buffalo with Jess?

3. What changes does Jess see in herself after taking male hormones and how does she know she has passed as a male?

4. What is the significance of the apartment fire to Jess?

5. How does Duffy inadvertently lose Jess' job for her at the plant?

6. What is the dilemma Jess faces regarding identification?

7. What is the irony of Jess moving next door to Ruth?

8. Describe the encounter where Jess sees Butch Al in the asylum.

9. What is the role of food in Chapter 22?

10. What is the difference between Buffalo and New York?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The story takes place as America is experiencing the Hippie Generation, the Vietnam War, Woodstock, and drug usage in the late 1960s. Explain the significance of these political and cultural events on Jess and the other bi-gendered people in her life. How would Jess' life be different if she were living as a young woman today? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

The novel takes place in the late 1960s as America is experiencing free love, war protests and radical shifts in music. Research this period in America and create a multimedia presentation of the clothes, food, music, and people during this time.

Essay Topic 3

Explain the role of gays and lesbians in the 1960s. What precedents are they forced to follow? What restrictions do they have? What freedoms did they have that 21st century gays and lesbians do not have?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,036 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample