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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 Beth's covert purpose in talking with Bill about her wardrobe and personal style?

2. When Rory comes to visit for Easter, what has changed about his hair?

3. What job does Beth go to school to learn to do?

4. In April of 2000, why does Rory not call his mother as he promised on Easter Sunday?

5. When Lorelei and Vicky tell Beth about their romantic relationship, how does Beth respond?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the very first passage describing a Bird family Easter egg hunt characterize Meg?

2. Describe Bill and Beth's relationship as it stands in April of 1999.

3. How does Colin end up as Lorelei's next-door neighbor?

4. What foreshadowing alerts the reader that something terrible has happened between Meg and Beth?

5. What is ironic about Lorelei's characterization of Meg's "frantic reproduction" (1)?

6. When she is in Greece, what causes Meg to be momentarily suspicious about Beth and Bill, and what does she decide is probably going on?

7. Why is it so meaningful to Meg when Molly takes her hand before they first enter Bird House together after Lorelei's death?

8. How does Rory's new friend inspire him to make a change in his life?

9. What is Alfie's full name, and what is its significance?

10. When Kayleigh is talking to Beth about quitting smoking, what does Beth assume she is really saying, and why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

After Beth witnesses the scene between her mother and her father and Vicky in Chapter 7, she goes upstairs to her own room. What is it that so disturbs her about the appearance of her room? What does it imply about her? How does juxtaposing her dawning realizations about her own room and herself with the scene between her parents and Vicky create a sense of urgency and help the reader understand Beth's decision to try again with Jason? Write an essay in which you analyze how the details in and structure of this section of Chapter 7 allows the reader to more fully understand Beth's panic and her choice to attempt a relationship with Jason.

Essay Topic 2

In one lesson, you made predictions about how the novel would end based on whether the Birds can learn to follow Vicky's advice and "Look after each other" (313). Now that you have read the novel's actual ending, do you think that the family members have or have not been able to follow Vicky's advice? What evidence is there in the text to support your interpretation? Write an essay in which you use the novel's final chapters to make a case for or against the idea that the Birds have finally learned how to support and nurture one another.

Essay Topic 3

What is Meg's role in the Bird family? Why is she the one who gets off to the most successful start in life, and why is she generally able to hold her life together despite the obstacles in her way? Does Meg know herself and what she needs better than the other Birds? How does this impact her ability to understand and relate to other people? Does Meg know herself well enough to follow through on her beliefs, or do her actions sometimes contradict her beliefs? Would you say that she is better or worse than other characters, in this regard? Write an essay that explores how the failings that seem to plague the Bird family either do or do not plague Meg, and that analyzes why Meg seems bound for a more successful life from the start. Support your ideas with evidence drawn from throughout the text.

(see the answer keys)

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