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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 does Janice instruct Meredith and Sebastian to eat for dinner when she drops them off at the Whitcombs' before going back to the hospital to stay with Jared?

2. What night of the week does Sebastian realize that he has inadvertently made plans with both Meredith and Jared for the same night?

3. With what alcohol does Jared spike his and Sebastian's grape soda during their first band practice?

4. How many times does Meredith say that Jared has been through a rejection episode with his new heart?

5. Who grabs the redheaded guy around the neck when he is in Meredith's room and appears to be bothering her?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the significance of Meredith thinking Sebastian is Jared at her door and telling him to get away from the door and that she is fine?

2. What is the one thing Meredith cites as the quality of Sebastian's that makes him different and is the thing she really likes about him?

3. What is the big news Jared tells Sebastian about their band the day that Nana kicks Sebastian out of the house?

4. What is the process of sorting according to Buckminster Fuller's philosophy?

5. Why is Sebastian's plan of trying to learn bass unsuccessful?

6. How does Sebastian apply his understanding of sorting to his and Jared's efforts within the songwriting process?

7. What reason does Jared give Sebastian for why their band "needs to be awesome" (157)?

8. What does Janice cite as the destiny of all mothers?

9. What does Janice reveal to Sebastian as the real reason for her role as a youth group leader at Immanuel Methodist Church?

10. What does Sebastian realize about Buckminster Fuller's philosophy after he has his first sexual experience by touching Meredith's breast?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Discuss how the author of The House of Tomorrow succeeds in eliciting emotional responses from the reader in spite of Sebastian's inability to emote within his narration due to his stifled upbringing.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the meaning of the novel's final passage in which Sebastian declares, "I brace for the noise" (352). How does the passage display the themes present throughout the work?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,006 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample