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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 item does the man often ask the woman to bring him?

2. What is the name of the statue commissioned by Norval Chase and the War Memorial Committee?

3. Where is Iris's favorite bathroom stall?

4. What name do others use to refer to the group who intends to invade Sakiel-Norn?

5. Norval Chase is wounded and his brothers are killed in what war?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the relationship between the man and the woman in 'The Blind Assassin' sub novel in chapter 2.

2. According to chapter 6, does the man enjoy writing science fiction stories?

3. In chapter 4, how does the woman feel about the man's story?

4. In chapter 1, do you think Iris is too concerned with maintaining appearances?

5. What is the fate of slave children who make the carpets in Sakiel-Norn?

6. How does Norval Chase respond to the stock market crash and following economic depression?

7. How do Winifred and Richard treat the Chase sisters?

8. Why is it awkward between Liliana and Norval Chase when he returns from the war?

9. In chapter 4, what is Richard Griffen's stance on creating jobs throughout government stimulus plans implemented in America by Franklin D. Roosevelt?

10. According to the news article in chapter 4, how does Norval Chase respond to the economic depression?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The information related to the reader through the newspaper clippings and that communicated through Iris's memoir often disagrees. Throughout the novel many of the characters, particularly Winifred and Laura are obsessed with ensuring that their behavior and demeanor fits in to what they feel befits people of their social class, or at least that their behavior appears to comply with it. Yet, often the truth as presented in Iris's memoir is much more sinister than the supposed truth reported by the media. Discuss the disconnect between the public facade and private reality of the Chase/Griffen family as presented in the novel? What characters do you think care more about appearance than reality and what characters care more about reality? In other words, what are the priorities of the main characters? Why is so much more importance placed on appearing upright than on acting upright?

Essay Topic 2

Iris feels confined by her gender. She feels obligated to accept Richard's marriage proposal, she allows him to bully her because she believes she has no real power in their relationship, and remains married to him because she has no marketable skills. In the same way, the sacrificial virgins of Sakiel-Norn are doomed to a life of slavery and sacrifice. Do you think that Iris and Laura are confined by their gender or do they have the power to make their own decisions and escape from the expectations of the men around them? Compare and contrast the Sakiel-Norn virgins with the women in the main novel, incorporating at least two characters. You might want to include characters such as Iris, Laura, Reenie, Winifred, Liliana, Adelia, Aimee, or Myra. You can also incorporate the Peach Women of Aa'A if you so choose.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the relationship between author and story, and fiction and nonfiction as presented in the novel. Iris never explicitly mentions her affair with Alex within the memoir, while her meetings with him serve as the basis for the frame narrative of 'The Blind Assassin'. To what extent do you think 'The Blind Assassin' represents the reality of Iris and Alex's affair and to what extent do you think Iris fictionalizes the story? How does this relate to the novel as a whole? Do you think Atwood's novel is at all based in her own reality? Give examples to support your view from the text.

(see the answer keys)

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