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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. Which of the following is NOT true of Lou?

2. While at the location in #177, the narrator learns that which celebrity has died?

3. The narrator says that there was something genetic or psychological in his and his sister's makeup that __________________.

4. The person in #102 instructs the narrator on how to be a better lover and a better ______________.

5. What had the narrator intended to study in the graduate program?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the relationship between Maria and the narrator change when she moves to New York?

2. How does the narrator's decreasing shame mirror what is going on in the gay community in general?

3. Who is Sean and how did the narrator meet him?

4. What do the narrator's parents--and society in general--consider to be a "normal" lifestyle for their son?

5. What is the reality of Lou's life as an engaged man?

6. What eventually happens to Sean who is conflicted by his own identity?

7. How are the narrator's parents portrayed in the book and what do they want most for their son?

8. Why does Sean's comment about a group of men having sex in a public restroom as being "subhuman" have a particular sting for the narrator?

9. What does the narrator experience for the first time after a sexual encounter in a subway restroom that he has never experienced before?

10. What are a couple of topics that Lou tries to educate the narrator on?

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

Explain the concept of loneliness as it exhibits in the story. Which of the characters are lonely? Are they all lonely in some way? Explain the loneliness and the methods and attempts to overcome it.

Essay Topic 3

Explain the significance of the novel's title--"The Beautiful Room is Empty". Why did White choose this title? Is there an understood message in the title? Is there another title you can suggest that might be more appropriate?

(see the answer keys)

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