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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 topic is Dick sharing with Elsie Speers?

2. What makes Dick feel trapped in his marriage?

3. Tommy tells Dick that he always treats Nicole ______________________________.

4. What old acquaintance does Dick run into at a cafe?

5. Into what arrangement does Dick enter with Franz?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Nicole manage to get the best of all the worlds she wants?

2. How does Dick behave counter to his feelings about Nicole?

3. How does Dick's profession get in the way of his marriage?

4. How is Dick's marriage to Nicole compared to a patient's case?

5. What are Nicole's perceptions of Tommy in Book 3, Chapter 6?

6. What is the irony of the Divers intent to ask about other people's happiness?

7. What is the state of Dick's alcoholism at this point?

8. Describe the situation in which Dick falls into deeper emotional debt to Nicole's family.

9. What does Abe North's death represent for Dick?

10. What is the tragic event that occurs while Dick is in Innsbruck?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How is it that the characters in the novel have so much time to play? Do they characterize any particular segment of society? Or are they enjoying post-war prosperity to its fullest? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

What is the role of Nicole's sister, Beth, in the book? What does her character represent for Nicole? For Dick? Do you think Beth relishes her role or resents it? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

Why does Rosemary's mother tolerate, and even encourage, her daughter's advances toward Dick, an older married man? What does Rosemary's mother truly want for Rosemary? Are the ambitions for Rosemary alone or does Rosemary's mother intend to take her share of the rewards? Explain.

(see the answer keys)

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