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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. What is Nana's legal first name?

2. What does the strong vinegary odor in Jared's room turn out to be?

3. For what sole purpose does Nana keep an active phone line in the house?

4. What band's first album does Jared play for Sebastian just after he warns him to prepare for "having his shit rocked"? (21)

5. What is NOT one reason the Greater Intellect cites when it tells Buckminster Fuller that he should not commit suicide?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Sebastian reveal to the reader about crying during the scene when he is riding with Nana in the ambulance?

2. What aspect of the distraction Jared decides to provide while Sebastian steals the bass is so cruel to Janice and why?

3. What is the significance of the scene in which Jared shows his scar?

4. How do Nana's past predictions about Sebastian's path contrast with her pronouncements about him after her stroke?

5. What is the significance of Sebastian's comments about the South Pole?

6. What does Nana say she discovers during a vision she has while Jared has been secretly visiting Jared for the first time?

7. What is the significance of Buckminster Fuller's suicide attempt?

8. What is the significance of Sebastian's secret password for the computer in the dome?

9. What is the significance of Sebastian's online search for information about Sid Vicious?

10. How does Janice's invitation to stay for lunch serve as a major turning point in Sebastian's life?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the novel's theme depicting health problems as a means of self-discovery.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the carnivalesque nature of the novel's climax and explain how its qualities of the carnivalesque mesh with the novel's inherent themes.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the significance of the novel's inclusion of the record store as a brief, yet meaningful and symbolic setting.

(see the answer keys)

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