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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 13, whose names do not appear on Danny's wedding invitation?

2. In Chapter 9, where does Danny go for the first time in New York City?

3. Where is the person Maeve offers a ride from the train station to in Chapter 8 from?

4. What upsets Celeste about Maeve's and Danny's relationship?

5. Who does Danny run into in the pastry shop when he is having coffee with Fluffy in Chapter 12?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 8, why does Danny end up going to medical school?

2. In Chapter 8, what does Maeve tell Danny about her feelings about his becoming a doctor?

3. In Chapter 14, what role does Maeve play in Danny's growing real estate business?

4. In Chapter 13, what does Celeste tell Danny about her interpretation of Maeve's feelings about their wedding?

5. In Chapter 8, why does Danny first end up in Harlem?

6. In Chapter 13, what does Fluffy tell Danny about how his father had gotten the money to buy his first plot of land?

7. In Chapter 8, how does Maeve get her point across to Danny about what she thinks he should do about Celeste pressuring him to get married?

8. In Chapter 8, what does Celeste say to Danny when he tells her he does not want to marry her right away?

9. In Chapter 8, what does Danny's professor, Dr. Able, tell him about chemistry?

10. In Chapter 12, what does Fluffy tell Danny that utterly shocks him?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The main explanation Patchett offers for Elna Conroy's decision to leave her husband and young children permanently is that she could not stand to live in the Dutch House. Does this explanation seem reasonable and plausible to you in the context of the story? Write an essay explaining why or why not, citing specific references to the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay analyzing why Danny finally decides to at least pretend to forgive Elna for leaving the family when he was a child. When does he genuinely begin to let go of his anger, resentment and bitterness towards her?

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.

(see the answer keys)

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