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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 item does Stillman carry with him on his daily walks?

2. What does Quinn like to do most in his free time?

3. In Chapter 7, where does Quinn go to find Stillman?

4. What is the weather like on the day that Stillman does not appear as usual?

5. According to Stillman, how is man like an egg?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Quinn believe is the key to effective detective work? Does his theory prove to be correct? Why or why not?

2. According to Peter, what was his father's motivation for locking him up in the dark for so many years? Was he successful?

3. At the end of Chapter 13, what does the narrator reveal about himself? How did he become involved in the story?

4. Where does Stillman go after leaving Grand Central Station? Why is Quinn surprised by this?

5. What is the first thing that Quinn writes in the red notebook? Why is this significant?

6. In what year did Stillman lock up his son? Why is this significant?

7. Describe the relationship between Quinn and the counterman at the luncheonette. What interest unites them?

8. In Chapter 12, why does Quinn finally decide to leave the alleyway? Who is the first person he contacts and what information does this person provide?

9. What is the message spelled out by the letters of the maps in Chapter 8? What does this message reveal to Quinn about Stillman?

10. According to Stillman's book, where should the new paradise be built? When should this building occur and why then?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Give two literary allusions that are found in the story, Ghosts. How do these stories parallel Blue's narrative?

Essay Topic 2

What is the importance of setting in the three novels that comprise The New York Trilogy? How is the city represented in each of the novels? What associations does New York have with writing and writers?

Essay Topic 3

What is the significance of the title, Ghosts? Who are the ghosts that Blue and Black discuss that are all around in New York? What are some examples of haunted men in that story?

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