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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 work did Trahearne want Sughrue to do for him?

2. What happened to Betty Sue in the hippie community of San Francisco?

3. What does Sughrue do at his acreage in Montana?

4. What do Jackson and his men do at the Hind's home?

5. What did Melinda use the money for?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why would Sughrue make a superficial joke about Catherine''s age?

2. Why does Melinda offer herself to Sughrue?

3. What is Trahearne's failure to write symbolic of? How?

4. What is a possibility behind Rosie's reaction to the news about Betty Sue?

5. When Sughrue walks away from Catherine, what does that mean?

6. What are some reasons Sughrue won't accept Melinda?

7. How would Melinda's past life affected her present day life?

8. Why does Catherine sleep with Sughrue?

9. According to Catherine, what is Trahearne and Melinda's marriage like?

10. Why would Selma have lied to Sughrue about Betty Sue's death?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Map Trahearne's injuries and hospitalizations. What did each hospitalization symbolize?

Essay Topic 2

Trahearne has previous and successful writing and writing that he is wanting to complete. These two types of writing are very different. What does Trahearne's writing symbolize at different stages in his life?

Essay Topic 3

What does the novel's title mean? Which characters does it reference? Why?

(see the answer keys)

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