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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. In Chapter Eight, what is it revealed that Colette has been worrying about?

2. Who was the father in Francie's first pregnancy?

3. What is surprising about Colette's appearance when she opens the door to her apartment in Chapter Seven?

4. What does Nell confess about Beatrice's first day at daycare?

5. Where does the novel take place?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is "Token," and what is the implied source of his nickname?

2. In Chapter Five, why are the police being criticized for their handling of Midas's case?

3. How does Chapter One hint at trouble in the narrator's childhood?

4. What does Colette discover on the mayor's desk, and what does she do with it?

5. What does Francie remember about Mr. Colburn, her high school science teacher?

6. In Chapter Eight, what memory does Nell suddenly have related to smoking?

7. While Colette is out running in Chapter Eight, what source of comfort is she wishing for, and why can she not get it?

8. What does Winnie leave on the table at the bar, and where does it eventually end up?

9. In Chapter Eleven, what does Francie decide the police need to investigate further?

10. How do Chapters One through Three characterize Francie?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does the time ordering of the novel's opening--the prologue, Chapter One, and Chapter Two--create suspense and dramatic irony that increase reader engagement with the novel's characters and its central puzzle? Write an essay in which you describe this time order and then analyze the impact that it has on the reader. Discuss the choice to begin in medias res, the use of flash-forward, the revelations that create suspense and dramatic irony, and how these techniques increase the reader's interest in the characters and the events they are caught up in. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the novel's opening; be sure to cite any quoted evidence in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

In The Perfect Mother, both police and politicians are subjected to criticism from the media and the public. In what sense do the characterizations of Teb Shepherd and Mark Hoyt dispute the public's judgment? What does the eventual revelation of Nell's past involvement with Lachlan Raine contribute to the novel's portrait of politicians? How do the media and public reactions to Raine complicate the novel's picture of the public perception of politicians? Are politicians in this novel being judged more harshly than the police are? Write an essay that analyzes the novel's perspective on politicians and the police. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the text; be sure to cite any quoted evidence in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

What messages about impulsiveness and risk-taking are conveyed in The Perfect Mother? Which characters make risky or impulsive decisions? Do these kinds of decisions turn out differently for "good" and "bad" characters? Do the consequences--or lack of consequences--characters face seem realistic? How would the tone of the book change if the three amateur sleuths at the center of the story faced dire consequences for their choices? Would this impact the book's entertainment value? How much of the good luck these characters experience is simply necessary given the book's genre, and how much is actually meant to convey messages about risky and impulsive behavior? Write an essay that takes and defends a position on the messages the text conveys about impulsiveness and risk-taking. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the text; be sure to cite any quoted evidence in MLA format.

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