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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 old is Maddy?

2. What is different about Nola is the dream Arthur has about her in Section 2?

3. What did Arthur do for a career before he retired?

4. What kind of car does Frank drive?

5. How does Maddy get Anderson to meet her at midnight, in Section 1?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Lucille's new relationship with Frank, in Section 2, change her?

2. What does Arthur dream about in Section 2?

3. In Section 2, what does Lucille tell Frank about her impression of New York City?

4. What is happening "more and more often" (4) to Arthur in Section 1?

5. What happens in the car when Anderson picks Maddy up in Section 1?

6. What happens between Maddy and Scott Bredeman in Section 2?

7. What makes Lucille suddenly want to live to be 100 in Section 1?

8. How do Maddy and her father celebrate Maddy's birthday in Section 2?

9. What does Arthur find in the kitchen drawer in Section 1?

10. How does Anderson respond to Maddy's pregnancy when she tells him, in Section 2?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the novel, Berg writes, "Frankly saying, who cares what happens before we're born and after we die? The question is, what do we do in the meantime?" (132). How does this quote highlight some of the key themes in the novel?

Essay Topic 2

How does Maddy change over the course of the novel? Who or what influences this change?

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the novel, a key theme is Maddy's struggle to find belonging. Analyze this theme, giving examples in the text of where this theme is expressed.

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