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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. For about how many minutes do Harding and Abel ask questions of Hal in Chapter 13 once she has been introduced to them?

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

3. About how old was Hal in the photograph featuring herself and her mother?

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

5. In Chapter 16, Hal misses which character so much that it is "like a physical pain around her heart" (129)?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. In what way does Ware join together the themes of free will and responsibility?

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

5. In what way does Hal turn her fear of meeting the Westaway family to her advantage?

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

7. Describe Hal's job.

8. Describe Hal's appearance.

9. Who is Mrs. Warren?

10. Which elements of Hal's accommodations within Trepassen House does Hal find creepy?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

William Faulkner once famously claimed that the most important literature deals with the subject of the human heart in conflict with itself. Explain how the theme of Human versus Self is demonstrated within Ware’s novel The Death of Mrs. Westaway. Create a decisive, arguable claim and prove it with quotes from the novel.

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 is the topic of fate treated within The Death of Mrs. Westaway and how does its treatment relate to the novel's depicted messages?

(see the answer keys)

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