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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. The psychiatrist convinces the narrator that much of the narrator's life is defined by ______________________.

2. Who is another person the narrator seeks out for sexual relations?

3. Who had introduced the narrator to Hunton?

4. What is the narrator's current obsession?

5. The narrator comments that he is not particularly interested in _______________________.

Short Essay Questions

1. How did the struggle for acceptance and freedom for lesbians differ from that of gay men?

2. How does the narrator's coming of age as a gay man mirror the coming of age of an entire gay community?

3. Describe the narrator's first year experiences at college.

4. Why does the narrator long to be heterosexual, especially when he sees the irresponsible behavior of his heterosexual fraternity brothers?

5. What does the narrator think about when he watches Tex and Morris interact?

6. Why is the narrator the embodiment of sacrificing oneself for the sake of social acceptance?

7. What is the significance of Betty and Kay to the narrator's life?

8. What is the premise of "The Beautiful Room is Empty"?

9. From what written piece is the name of the book taken, and what does it mean?

10. Why did the narrator decide to study Chinese?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Substance abuse seems to be an unnamed character in the book. How pervasive is the abuse? Why does it have such a prevalent place in the characters' lives? How does it affect the abusers? How does it affect those impacted by the abusers? Explain how an inanimate object or characteristic can be a character.

Essay Topic 2

"The Beautiful Room is Empty" is a classic coming of age story. What does that classification entail? Why does this novel fit into this category? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

The author uses more than one theme in the book. Identify at least two themes in the book. Then cite an example to support each theme you name.

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