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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. Where does Salvio take Sabine and the Fetters to lunch?

2. What does Sabine think about when the plane hits turbulence?

3. Who invites Sabine to the hotel for a couple of drinks?

4. What is the name of the restaurant where Sabine meets her parents for lunch?

5. Who does Sabine dream about?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are Sabine's perceptions of Kitty?

2. What does Phan tell Sabine about Parsifal coming around when he returns to her in a dream?

3. What conclusion does Sabine come to regarding Parsifal's denial of any living family?

4. How does Sabine philosophize her life versus the one Parsifal had?

5. Why did Parsifal leave home at an early age never to return?

6. Who is Haas and what is his role in the story?

7. How do Sabine's parents feel about her going to Nebraska to visit Parsifal's family?

8. Why did Sabine marry Parsifal, a gay man?

9. What does Sabine think of the cemetery where Parsifal and Phan are buried?

10. What shocking information does Sabine receive from Parsifal's attorney, Roger?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The search for love is an important theme in THE MAGICIAN'S ASSISTANT. Can you cite an example to support this theme? Name two other themes and cite examples to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Denial seems to be almost an unnamed character in the book. How pervasive is the sense of denial? Why does it have such a prevalent place in the lives of the characters? Explain how an inanimate object or characteristic can be a character.

Essay Topic 3

The frustration of unfulfilled affection touches several characters in the story. Name at least two characters who experience unfulfilled love and the situations that occur as a result.

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