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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. How does Martha save Ed Burton's home?

2. What does Martha accuse Cora of wanting?

3. How does Spencer betray Luke?

4. What does William first think the stench is that pervades the air and makes people sick?

5. What does Cora discover about the body of the dead fish?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Luke Garrett become alarmed after the heart surgery?

2. What caused Cora's harsh response to Luke Garrett's love declaration?

3. Why does Martha refuse Edward's marriage proposal?

4. Who was watching Ambrose, Garrett, Spencer and Martha as they walked the streets of the housing project?

5. Why does Frankie not immediately enter Stella's room when he visits her with Cora?

6. Why does Luke Garrett suggests hypnosis for Joanna?

7. What kind of books did Cora request Luke bring for Francis?

8. Where does William take Stella after Luke Garrett writes to him?

9. How does Naomi come to realize that her friendship with Joanna is waning?

10. What was the cause of the pervasive and foul smell in Aldwinter?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Ambroses wrote a letter to the Ransomes to introduce Cora. When introductions were made between people, permission for the introduction was sought first. Discuss the old practice of writing letters of introduction and the manner in which people are introduced to each other today.

Essay Topic 2

Consumption, or tuberculosis, was a lung disease that eventually caused death. The disease is slow moving and often heightens a persons sensitivities—Stella's inexplicable draw to the color blue is an example. Discuss why the author chose to have Stella suffer from consumption, while her husband William and her friend Cor were becoming more intimately known to each other.

Essay Topic 3

There is protocol for death and dying and some expectations in Victorian England are described on page 25 of the novel. Write an essay that addresses the protocol described in the novel and compare it to your understandings of the protocol of today.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 645 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample