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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. How old is the narrator during this Summer?

2. Which of the following does NOT describe the narrator's sexual identity?

3. The narrator can see his past behavior as a manifestation of ______________ rather than identity.

4. How does the narrator describe the hair of the girl on the subway?

5. What does the narrator do in his free time?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. What does the narrator consider for his life after Paul commits suicide in order to leave a world that rejects people like him?

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

6. What happens to the narrator after Sean is gone?

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

8. How can the raid on the Stonewall Inn be both a beginning and an ending of a gay rights movement?

9. What changes the narrator's mind about having a sex change operation?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Explain the role of gays and lesbians in the 1960s. What precedents were they forced to follow? What restrictions did they have? What freedoms did they have that 21st century gays and lesbians do not have?

Essay Topic 3

Project into the future ten years after the end of the novel and write a brief synopsis for the lives of the narrator and three other characters. Be sure to incorporate personal, political and cultural impacts on the characters' lives.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,015 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample