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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 is Alvin McCarron's job?

2. What is Marge's surname?

3. Where does Tom spend five days wandering around?

4. When is Tom sailing to Greece?

5. Whose death does Tom tell the Greenleafs about?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Tom love his possessions?

2. What do the newspapers say about Dickie?

3. How does Tom fake Dickie's will?

4. What lies does Tom tell McCarron?

5. What does Tom decide is a great thing about Europe?

6. How does Tom try to hide that Freddie is dead when he takes him outside?

7. What information does McCarron want from Tom?

8. What does one of the Franchetti brothers jokingly suggest about Dickie?

9. What reason does Tom give for Dickie being despondent?

10. Why does Marge think that Dickie's signature must have changed?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Tom suffer from being a homosexual in the Fifties? What do you think would happen to Tom if he openly admitted he was gay? How does Partricia Highsmith use the novel to comment on attitudes towards homosexuals in the Fifties?

Essay Topic 2

Pick two characters from the novel and discuss their goals and motives. Do they achieve their motives? Do they share similar goals and motives with other characters? Do their goals clash with other characters? How do the characters' goals and motives affect their interaction with each other?

Essay Topic 3

Examine the difference between American and European culture in terms of the following:

1) Religion.

2) Attitudes towards death.

3) Popular culture.

(see the answer keys)

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