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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. On page 294, what does Scarlett tell the other women her parenting philosophy is?

2. On page 290, how does Scarlett characterize the emails Francie has been sending her?

3. What does Colette's response to the teenage girl on the train in Chapter Seventeen demonstrate about Colette?

4. What did the press call Nell during the Raine scandal?

5. Who does Nell end up calling after she abruptly ends the call to Hoyt?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Token shows up at Francie's apartment in Chapter Twenty, what does he reveal about his long-ago arrest?

2. What is the scandal that disrupted Nell's life many years ago?

3. How do Nell and Colette end up in Scarlett's apartment?

4. How does Chapter Seventeen open, and what does this opening make clear about Nell and Sebastian's relationship?

5. When Francie enters Winnie's home, what is the detail that she "can't help but notice," and what does this detail imply (265)?

6. How does Francie feel about her mother-in-law, and why?

7. What does Francie read in Scarlett's journal, and what does this journal entry make clear to the reader?

8. What is ironic about Ghosh's Chapter Twenty press conference statement that everyone involved in the investigation has done "a stellar job" (276)?

9. In the Patricia Faith interview that Nell watches while she is at work in Chapter Thirteen, what makes it clear that Faith is trying to promote a particular viewpoint about Midas's disappearance?

10. What argument do Francie and Lowell get into about a stroller, and what does the argument demonstrate about their relationship?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In what sense does Gossip! magazine embody everything that The Perfect Mother is claiming is wrong with contemporary media? What factors influence the choices this magazine's staff makes, and how much weight do they give to truth and the social impact of their choices? Consider the magazine's name and the role that gossip plays in this novel as well as the way the women are portrayed in this magazine and women's role in creating and supporting this portrayal. Write an essay that makes and defends a claim about the rhetorical function of including Gossip! magazine in this novel. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the text; be sure to cite any quoted evidence in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

How does the characterization of Scarlett as the novel's villain support the novel's thematic concerns with the role of women in American society? How is her childhood impacted by domestic violence? How does the predatory relationship with her therapist relate to her gender? In what sense is her sex responsible for her bearing a consequence for that relationship that Dr. H does not bear? How does the value that society places on motherhood impact her when she loses her child? What do her final scenes in the novel convey about social pressures on women? Write an essay that analyzes what messages about women's roles are conveyed by the characterization of Scarlett. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the text; be sure to cite any quoted evidence in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

What is Molloy's purpose in pointing out that adverse circumstances like the kidnapping of a child can cause a flare-up in anti-immigrant ideas? How is this thematic motif in The Perfect Mother related to the book's concerns with perspective-taking and judgment of others in general? How is this motif related to the book's concerns with the marginalization of women? Write an essay in which you consider how The Perfect Mother's status as a domestic thriller makes it ideally suited for exploring how adverse, high-intensity circumstances differentially impact marginalized groups. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the text; be sure to cite any quoted evidence in MLA format.

(see the answer keys)

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