View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "The White Tower", the author describes his father as the young man in the gray slacks and maroon _______.

2. In what year was "Now and Then" written?

3. How many years after college graduation was the author ordained as a minister?

4. What place of torment eventually becomes home if you live there long enough, according to the author?

5. According to the author, about how old is the the Chapel of St. John?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did the author feel about his kids once they were older and how did this affect his life once they left home as adults?

2. What events from the author's life most fit the title for Part Two of "Telling Secrets?"

3. What can you tell about the author and his time at Union Theological Seminary?

4. How did the author translate his hotel dream into his real life?

5. How does the author connect his feelings to what he describes about the Tower in London?

6. Why does the author go to Bermuda as a child?

7. How do our other selves develop as explained in Part Two of "Telling Secrets?"

8. What differences did the author write about among Union students as well as what they all shared?

9. Who is Naya?

10. What dream did the author have about a hotel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

On page 10 of the book, the author writes that "don't talk, don't trust, don't feel" is supposed to be the unwritten law of dysfunctional families. How does this "law" manifest itself in the author's life as a child when his father commits suicide, as well as in the immediate events following his father's death (e.g. the lack of a funeral, the family move out of the country, the mother's behavior, ...); and how does the "law manifest itself in later events involving the author and his brother's relationship with their mother as she aged?

Essay Topic 2

The author taught on the east coast and in the mid-west. Explain his thoughts about each experience, using details from the book. Also, identify the major differences that existed between the two in regards to religious discussions, and the students he taught; and how these differences contributed to the author's experiences.

Essay Topic 3

Why does the author attend St. Barnabas Episcopal Church? How is this place more at home for him than another Church? Why does the author enjoy the chanting so much? Who is Robert MacFarlane, and how does he impact the author's connection with this church?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 824 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample