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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. Who follows Hal outside after breakfast in Chapter 18 and offers to show her the hedge maze?

2. The epigraph included at the start of the novel The Death of Mrs. Westaway features what element in association with the number seven?

3. Which member of the Westaway family appears not to have an online presence?

4. To what creatures does the narrator compare the black sedans that bring the Westaway family to Trepassen from the funeral?

5. Mr. Treswick tells the family that which character has been awarded 30,000 pounds in the will of Hester Westaway?

Short Essay Questions

1. Name one main theme introduced by the novel's epigraph in The Death of Mrs. Westaway.

2. What meaningful item does Hal keep on her mantelpiece and what does the object symbolize?

3. What severe mistake does Hal nearly make when talking to Freddie, Harding's 12-year-old son, for the first time?

4. How and why does Abel's reaction to the news about the inheritance differ from his brother Harding's reaction?

5. What distinction does Hal make between two different types of her clientele?

6. For what occasion must the Westaway family travel to Penzance together and how do they get there?

7. Discuss an instance when Ware uses a simile to indicate a violent emotional reaction.

8. How does the reader come to find out that Maud and the writer of the diary had been cousins?

9. What drastic change in Hal's life occurred just before her 18th birthday?

10. Describe Hal's job.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Ware’s use of metaphor, simile, imagery, and other literary devices as a means to send particular thematic messages within the narrative of The Death of Mrs. Westaway.

Essay Topic 2

Write a critical essay about The Death of Mrs. Westaway while using the critical power theory lens of feminist theory. Use textual evidence to back up your strong, specific claim regarding the novel's treatment of gender roles, the objectification of women, female empowerment, misogyny's role within society, or any other issues related to feminist theory that can be found in the novel.

Essay Topic 3

How do the themes of deception and secrecy function within The Death of Mrs. Westaway and what is Ware’s message regarding these themes?

(see the answer keys)

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