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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 what does Theo feel trapped in Part Two, Chapter Eighteen?

2. What is the name of the neighbor who called the police on the night of the murder?

3. According to Ruth in Part Two, Chapter Nine, Theo is full of what two qualities?

4. Whom did the narrator internalize, leading him to have psychological issues?

5. According to the narrator in the Part One, Chapter Three, what saved his life?

Short Essay Questions

1. What request does Theo make of Diomedes in Part Two, Chapter Two? What is the result?

2. Why does Theo's former supervisor believe taking a job at the Grove is a bad idea?

3. According to the Prologue, how does Alicia feel about her husband?

4. What plan of inquiry does Theo outline in Part One, Chapter Eight?

5. Why does Diomedes warn Theo in Part Two, Chapter Fourteen? What does Theo do as a result?

6. What paintings does Theo see when he visits the art gallery in Part Two, Chapter Twenty?

7. What are the various opinions on Alicia's attack in Part Two, Chapter Five?

8. What does the reader learn about Alicia's mother in Part Two, Chapter One?

9. What happens when Theo meets Paul and Lydia Rose in Part Two, Chapters Sixteen and Seventeen?

10. How does the narrator describe Gabriel Berenson in Part One, Chapter One?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The epigraph to the second section of the novel comes from Freud: “Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive, and will come forth later, in uglier ways.” Explain how Freud’s ideas apply to both Alicia and Theo.

Essay Topic 2

To what extent does Alicia “speak” for herself in the novel? To what extent is she defined by other characters? What do others say about her? What does she say about herself? How does the reader resolve these multiple interpretations of her character?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze the author’s choice to tell this story by using alternating perspectives. How does viewing the action through the eyes of both Theo and Alicia affect the story? How do the shifting timelines affect the story? How would the book be different if the story was told through just one of their perspectives?

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