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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. According to Aunt Lydia in Chapter 52, who suddenly appears deathly ill?

2. According to the file she is given in Chapter 56, Agnes is able to see whom?

3. How does Aunt Lydia describe Aunt Elizabeth at the end of Chapter 46?

4. Who nearly catches Aunt Lydia writing her secret manuscript in Chapter 52?

5. Where is Becka found in Chapter 68?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens during the Particicution in Chapter 46?

2. What happens when the girls arrive in Portsmouth in Chapter 62?

3. What happens aboard the Nellie J. Banks?

4. What happens when Agnes and Becka are summoned to Aunt Lydia's office in Chapter 58?

5. What startling information regarding Paula is given to Agnes in Chapter 51? How does she come by this information?

6. What do scholars think about the testimonies of Agnes, Nicole, and Aunt Lydia, as recounted in the Thirteenth Symposium?

7. How is Dr. Grove finally brought to justice in Chapter 46?

8. What troubling concerns does Aunt Vidala voice in Chapter 52?

9. How does Nicole adapt to life in Gilead at the beginning of Section XX? What does she find difficult?

10. In Chapter 50, what does Agnes learn about the Concubine Cut into Twelve Pieces? What is her reaction?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Appearances in the story can be deceiving. How do appearances differ from reality in this story? Discuss three characters, objects, or situations and how this idea applies to each.

Essay Topic 2

Mothers are very important in the novel. How has Gilead’s totalitarianism affected the nature of motherhood?

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 Aunt Lydia, Agnes, and Nicole affect the story? How would the book be different if the story was told through just one perspective?

(see the answer keys)

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