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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who spends the night with Simon in Ward 86 once he is diagnosed with the illness that will come to be known as AIDS?
(a) Varya and Klara.
(b) Daniel and Varya.
(c) Klara and Gertie.
(d) Robert and Klara.

2. What do the Gold siblings bring to the fortune teller as payment for her services?
(a) A sand dollar.
(b) A dead rat.
(c) Money.
(d) Their mother's set of tarot cards.

3. What is NOT listed among the American events the Gold children are excluded from due to their youth?
(a) Attending Woodstock.
(b) Watching Midnight Cowboy.
(c) Reading Helter Skelter.
(d) Joining the Stonewall riots.

4. With whom does Simon begin an affair after the two cruise the Castro together?
(a) Richie.
(b) Robert.
(c) Adrian.
(d) Tommy.

5. In what type of venue does Klara NOT perform her act during her early days as a magician?
(a) Concert halls.
(b) A circus.
(c) Dinner theaters.
(d) Caesar's Palace.

Short Answer Questions

1. In contrast to her brothers' bar mitzvahs, Klara's bat mitzvah takes place not individually but in a group of how many girls?

2. What is NOT named among Simon's "earliest memories of Ward 86" (87)?

3. What reason does Klara state for not calling the family to notify them of Simon's illness?

4. What does Gertie say to Simon on the phone just before she hangs up on him?

5. At what location do Raj and Klara scavenge for wood to build Klara's magician's cabinet?

Short Essay Questions

1. Which of the Gold siblings is the most apprehensive about the prospect of visiting the fortune teller and why?

2. What is the author's purpose for using the allusion to The Statue of Liberty when depicting the children's grandfather Lev?

3. How is an allusion to the story of Icarus used within the author's depiction of Simon's progression toward the date of his foretold death?

4. How does the novel's setting within the prologue affect the events of the narrative?

5. What does the narrator mean when describing Simon's impression of the Castro district as being like a "fallout shelter" (79)?

6. How many years pass between the first knock Klara believes Simon is using to communicate with her from the afterlife and the second knock she hears?

7. What is Robert's reaction to the AIDS epidemic and how does it differ from Simon's?

8. Describe the significance of Simon's dream about salmon and how it relates to his mindset at the time of his dream.

9. What aspects of Robert's character are depicted as those that make him "stand out" (59) to Simon?

10. When the narrator reveals that Raj has "big plans" (113) for overhauling Klara's act, what kind of changes does the narrator depict?

(see the answer keys)

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