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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. How does scheduled sex with Luke make Rose feel in her own marriage in Chapter 27?

2. What is the first thing Rose's mother does when she comes to Rose's apartment in Chapter 28?

3. What does Rose's mother not ask her about in Chapter 28?

4. In Chapter 35, how does Rose describe the way Luke says her name during their argument over the pill bottle?

5. Who is waiting at the hospital when Rose returns from lunch in Chapter 28?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 36, Addie will not answer the phone after Rose tries to call her. What does Rose confess she wants to tell her own mother?

2. What drove Rose to apply for the new grant she discusses at the end of the novel? What will she do with the grant money?

3. In Life 8, Rose describes how her sex life with Luke “is going to end [her]” (251). What do you think Rose means by this statement?

4. How does Rose describe her love for Luke when they are on their honeymoon?

5. After Luke and Rose have “The Sex,” what does Luke suggest they do if their attempts to make a baby fail? How does Rose respond?

6. How does Rose die in Life 4?

7. How does Rose describe her love for Addie in Life 5?

8. How does the novel end? What realization does Rose have?

9. In the final pill bottle fight, what version does Rose reimagine?

10. What reason does Rose’s colleague and friend, Brandy, give for scheduling weekly sex with her partner?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze how the abortion clinic is described in Life 8. How is it illustrative of choice and freedom, yet also of conflict?

Essay Topic 2

Loss--of a lover, of a marriage, of a mother, of one's body--is a common theme in the novel. Analyze how the author develops and strengthens this theme through plot and characters.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay analyzing how the author uses the characters and their behaviors to develop and strengthen the theme of betrayal. How does Luke betray Rose? Why does Luke think Rose will "come around" to the idea of motherhood?

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