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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 Mel overcompensate once the divorce proceedings commence?

2. Who are Philip and Janet Yancey?

3. How did Mel view Jerry Falwell when Mel worked with the man?

4. What does White do for Oliver North?

5. What does Robertson and others of the religious right tell White he could do?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does White say about working with Falwell on the book, If I Should Die Before I Wake?

2. What happens one night when White becomes too stressed about his life? What does he do after that?

3. How does Tom Montgomery maintain his spirituality despite being angry with the Religious Right?

4. Who is David and how does White meet him?

5. What does Mel say that the religious right increasingly claimed and what was one of those claims?

6. Why does White decide to accept Piazza's offer?

7. Who was Michael Piazza, and what did he offer White?

8. What did White plan to do while scuba diving in Hawaii? What changed his mind?

9. What worries White about the religious right's rhetoric about homosexuality?

10. How do Mel and Lyla stay connected, and what do Christian leaders say about White's new living situation? What does Lyla say in response to the Christian leaders?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the following:

1. What do you think are the characteristics of a successful work of non-fiction/memoir?

2. Analyze and discuss Stranger at the Gate based upon the criteria you decide upon in #1 and judge if Stranger at the Gate is a successful work of non-fiction/memoir.

3. Is Stranger at the Gate a book you would recommend to a friend? Why or why not? Explain.

4. Can a novel be successful and yet many readers not enjoy it? Explain your response.

Essay Topic 2

Often titles reveal much about one or more aspects of a novel. Discuss the following:

1. What do you think is the purpose of a title? How closely related to a major theme(s) of a book do you think a title should be? Or should it be?

2. The phrase Stranger at the Gate appears in the Christian Bible in the story about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Research the story and write why you think White named his book after that story.

3. If you were the writer of Stranger at the Gate and your editor said the title must be changed, what would you choose? Why?

4. How do you feel when you have finished reading a book and you still do not understand the meaning of the title in relation to the book?

Essay Topic 3

Most people are a mixture of admirable traits and character flaws, and both Mel White and Jerry Falwell are no exceptions.

1. Trace and analyze situations when White and Falwell each demonstrates his admirable traits. Give specific examples to illustrate your analysis.

2. Trace and analyze both White and Falwell's character flaws, and explain how the flaws create the conflicts in the book. How do you think either man's character flaws make some situations more difficult for him?

3. After analyzing each man's strengths and weaknesses, decide if each man is an appropriate "hero" of the story. Is there anyone else who might be a more admirable "hero"?

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