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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 neighbor thinks Vincent is bossy because

2. Pat Cappadora arrives with an attitude of

3. What is Ben's age on the day he disappears?

4. What is Beth's assumption about Ben at this time in the story?

5. Charlie Rufalo is probably

Short Essay Questions

1. Discuss the significance of the discovery of Ben's small shoe.

2. What surfaces in Beth when she faces the media to ask for Ben's return? Is she rational at this point? What is the dominant emotion she feels?

3. Why does Tree's husband curse at her for announcing her pregnancy?

4. What does Beth's willingness to see a psychic indicate? What is Loretta's message?

5. Who volunteers to identify the body of a child at the morgue, and why?

6. What does the family counseling session reveal to Dr. Kilgore?

7. What is the theme of the restaurant opened by Pat and his father in Chicago?

8. What makes Ben's disappearance an increasing nightmare for Beth Cappadora?

9. Describe in your own words the type of family the Cappadoras represent. Many aspects of their shared character have been illustrated; put into adjectives how you are seeing their family.

10. Why does Beth scream? What causes her to respond this way to the events around her? Is she crazy?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Their are many ironic moments in this story. Focus on one ironic event of your own choosing, and write about how the irony is crafted, why it is ironic, and how long it takes to understand the irony as one reads the story.

Essay Topic 2

Do some research about the significance of dreams. In Reese's dreams, he sees an elderly woman behind Ben in the hotel lobby, and he thinks it is probably real. What is the purpose of dreams and what makes them happen? Do they help us in some way?

Essay Topic 3

Do a careful reading of the story's preface, wherein Beth looks back at the incident that changed her life forever. She encapsulates what the story will reveal about her state of mind; analyze her decisions, her behavior and her choices in response to Ben's absence.

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