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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 Mel tell his parents after meeting Tom?

2. When do Lyla and Mel file for divorce?

3. What stories does White relate about gays who have tried to be "cured" of homosexuality.

4. What group does Falwell form partly through the influence of Francis Schaeffer?

5. With whom does White work on If I Should Die Before I Wake?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the Truth in Love campaign?

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

3. What do Lyla and Mel finally do? How do the children respond?

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

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

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

7. What does the religious right try to push through in Oregon, and what does White do about it?

8. How does White find peace in his new church in Dallas?

9. What was Mel White determined to do after the end of his relationship with Tom?

10. Where does White take his family in the summer of 1979, and how does he feel about the time spent there with Lyla?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss one of the following:

1. Define irony in literary terms. Discuss the irony of the situation whereby Mel White is a homosexual and works to promote the agendas of men such as Falwell who were rabidly anti-gay. Discuss two other incidences of irony in Stranger at the Gate.

2. Define symbolism in literary terms. Discuss the use of and meaning of five symbols found in Stranger at the Gate. Symbols are inherent in any work of literature, whether fiction or non-fiction, though in non-fiction, the use of symbols is not always intentional.

3. Discuss the use of foreshadowing in non-fiction. What is the purpose of foreshadowing in non-fiction? Cite 3 examples of foreshadowing and how it is indicates events to come in Stranger at the Gate. Can you as the reader see how what Mel White writes about his early life foreshadows what will happen in his later life?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the following:

1. Do you believe Mel White was hypocritical in continuing to earn a living working for the religious right after he began to realize that he was probably homosexual? Discuss fully with examples from the text.

2. Why do you think Jerry Falwell refused to answer Mel White's letter requesting a discussion with White about homosexuality and the Christian church? Do you think Falwell handled this situation justly? Discuss fully with examples from the text.

3. Discuss the situation when Mel White decides to travel to Acapulco, Mexico to work with Billy Graham instead of traveling to Chicago to live with Tom Montgomery. What does this situation say about White? About Montgomery?

Essay Topic 3

The topic of marriage is woven throughout Stranger at the Gate. Discuss the following:

1. Discuss the attitudes toward marriage that the following persons seem to take: Mel White, Lyla White, Jerry Falwell, Tom Montgomery, Pat Robertson and James Dobson.

2. How do you think the characters listed above are influenced by Christianity in their views of marriage? Discuss thoroughly using examples from the book.

3. Compare/contrast the Christian view of marriage with that of Mel White. How are their views similar? Different? Which views are more like your own?

(see the answer keys)

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