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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. What action does Benny recommend that Simon take after watching him on Simon's first night working at the bar?
(a) He recommends that Simon take cooking lessons.
(b) He recommends that Simon take ballet lessons.
(c) He recommends that Simon grow a beard.
(d) He recommends that Simon get his driver's license.

2. When Klara researches her grandmother Klara Kline, what is NOT one of the things she finds out?
(a) She got her start in vaudeville.
(b) She was Jewish.
(c) She never married.
(d) She was a daredevil for a living.

3. What words does Klara whisper to her audience at the conclusion of every show?
(a) Right this way.
(b) Thanks for your kindness.
(c) Look around you often.
(d) I love you all.

4. What kind of job does Simon find when he and Klara arrive in San Francisco?
(a) Cook.
(b) Bouncer.
(c) Valet.
(d) Go-go dancer.

5. From what college does Gertie withdraw when she becomes pregnant with Saul's child at age 20?
(a) Stanford University.
(b) New York University.
(c) Brown University.
(d) Yale University.

Short Answer Questions

1. To whom does adult Daniel bear a resemblance, according to Klara?

2. Simon recalls that the fortune teller had never asked for what item?

3. What is NOT one way in which Simon describes his father Saul?

4. On what street in New York City do the Gold siblings seek the fortune teller?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. How is the theme of guilt depicted within Gertie's feelings about her son after his death?

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

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

7. What do the Gold children bring to the fortune teller as payment for her services and why?

8. 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?

9. How do the Purp employees and owners react to the news of Harvey Milk's assassination and how do they take action?

10. The narrator takes pains to explain that Klara does not share her magic with people in order to deceive them. What is her true reason?

(see the answer keys)

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