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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. In Chapter 2, what is Danny's mother's behavior leading up to her leaving the family?

2. Where did the adults in their lives tell Maeve and Danny their mother went when she left the family?

3. In Chapter 5, what does Danny's father tell him when Danny asks why his mother left?

4. In Chapter 3, what does Andrea do one Saturday that shocks Danny and Maeve?

5. Who comes to visit Maeve and Danny at Maeve's apartment in Chapter 7?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 7, what does Maeve tell Danny about her feelings towards Andrea and her children?

2. In Chapter 7, who does Maeve turn to for help with her father's affairs, and what does he tell her?

3. In Chapter 2, how does Danny say he feels about his mother?

4. In Chapter 5, what does Danny's father tell him when Danny finally gets up the courage to ask why his mother left?

5. In Chapter 2, what does Danny's father do for a family with a very sick child that Maeve is surprised to hear about?

6. In Chapter 5, what is different about Danny's father's demeanor when they meet Maeve for dinner?

7. In Chapter 5, what does Danny's father do on a whim that is hugely significant for Danny?

8. In Chapter 1, what do Danny and Maeve think about the fact that their father wants them to meet a friend at the house on a Saturday?

9. In Chapter 1, what aspect of the house does Andrea express concern and misgivings about?

10. What does Danny remember about Fluffy in Chapter 1?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing the symbolism and meaning of May Conroy's acquiring the Dutch House at the end of the novel, returning the ownership of the building to the Conroy family again.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay analyzing why Danny and Maeve continue to sit in their parked car at the Dutch House years after Andrea has kicked them out. How does Danny seem to feel when Maeve finally tells him they should stop their trips there?

Essay Topic 3

At different points all throughout the novel, Danny wonders to himself and aloud to Maeve how accurate their memories and recollections of the past are. Write an essay analyzing Patchett's treatment of the theme of memory, and on how reliable any one individual's memory of the past is in this novel.

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