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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. Which family member do the others avoid at dinner at the Fetters home?

2. What has the family forgotten to do for the last two weeks?

3. How can Kitty's husband best be described?

4. What does Sabine understand about Parsifal now?

5. How does Dot feel about how she handled the family situation after her husband was killed?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Dot take Sabine to the top of a knoll?

2. How are Sabine's memories of the Tonight Show performance different from how the Fetters family views it?

3. What does Sabine finally see in the Tonight Show performance?

4. How do Sabine's views of the world differ from Dot's perspective?

5. What news does Sabine tell the Fetters family that upsets them?

6. How does Sabine finally understand why Parsifal had to escape his past?

7. How does the kiss from Kitty give Sabine some satisfaction over Howard and his threatening behavior?

8. How is Parsifal's true past so different from the one Sabine had always envisioned?

9. What makes Sabine think about her father when Kitty speaks to her about her own boys?

10. Why is Kitty returning home for awhile and how do Dot and Sabine view this differently?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the role of the family in THE MAGICIAN'S ASSISTANT. What does it mean for each of the main characters? How does the family evolve in its support of each other? How typical is this family to most families living during the late 20th century? How does the triangular relationship between Parsifal, Phan and Sabine consist of a family of sorts?

Essay Topic 2

Explain the role of the women in the novel, specifically, how did Dot's life differ from that of Sabine's in the next generation? In what ways is Dot's life mirrored in Kitty's life? What roles do family, culture and experiences play in forming a woman's character and life story?

Essay Topic 3

Dot is baffled that Sabine would have married Parsifal who was a gay man. Why would Sabine commit to marrying Parsifal if he could not return her love in all ways possible? Why would she choose to share her husband with another man? Explain Sabine's complicated love.

(see the answer keys)

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