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

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

3. Lou and Maria both know that the narrator ___________________ Sean.

4. What is notable about the woman in #139?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. Where does the narrator move to instead of going to Harvard where he has been accepted into a graduate program?

5. What is the significance of the author's using the present tense for scene in which the narrator engages in group sex in the subway restroom?

6. Why is Lou desperate to get married and how does the narrator help him?

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

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

9. Why is the New York experience so important to the narrator's longing to be part of a community?

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

What is the significance of the narrator's name not being identified? Why does the author leave the narrator nameless with the exception of Lou who calls the narrator "Bunny"? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

The author uses more than one iteration on the theme of the search for love. Identify at least two themes about love in the book. Then cite an example to support each theme you name.

(see the answer keys)

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