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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. Where is Daphne’s father when she greets him?

2. What does Daphne hope to find at Sal’s Café?

3. What do apotropaics do?

4. What does Daphne’s Uncle Rodney have to say in his letter to the editor?

5. What does Daphne say will be the downfall of the State of Jefferson movement?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the crisis Honey’s injury creates in Daphne and how does she resolve it?

2. What the State of Jefferson?

3. What positions do the editorials take on the State of Jefferson, in the paper Daphne reads?

4. Why were Daphne and Engin not married in Turkey?

5. How does Daphne describe her feelings about her separation from Engin?

6. Why is Daphne so glad to see a message from her Uncle Rodney on her phone when she gets service again?

7. What does the goat bell in Daphne’s house remind her?

8. What work-related issue is weighing on Daphne’s mind when she walks out of work?

9. What is Daphne’s relationship with her daughter Honey like?

10. What is Cindy Cooper’s feeling about Islam?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Is this an American novel or just a regional novel bound to California and its North Country? What are the advantages and disadvantages of writing such a regional book? What does it mean for a novel to be American anyway?

Essay Topic 2

Would you recommend The Golden State? For what purposes would you recommend The Golden State, and what kinds of readers would you recommend it for? What other book would you recommend that would cover the same material or tell the same story in a different way?

Essay Topic 3

What does the title of this novel mean? How many different meanings does it have, in the context of Daphne’s escape from her life? What is golden about the state of mind Daphne is in?

(see the answer keys)

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