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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. What caused Jane to start to receive obscene and threatening phone calls?

2. How does the narrator say Darren sees life?

3. How long does the narrator say it will take Adam to see the connection between Amber’s story and her actions?

4. What topic is Adam debating in Russell High School?

5. Where is Adam at the beginning of the novel?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Jonathan explain his success at the Foundation?

2. What is the story Amber told Adam in the car after they reconnected?

3. What did Jonathan find captivating about the Duccio Madonna and Child painting in the Met?

4. What was Jonathan studying for his dissertation?

5. What happens in the Herman Hesse story Jonathan talks about?

6. What was Darren’s job, and how did he lose it?

7. What was the super power Darren believed he had?

8. How does the narrator’s perspective shift as he describes Adam’s return to shore and the process of reuniting with Amber?

9. What are the kinds of things Darren finds and puts in his pockets and gauges his identity by?

10. How does Jane characterize her relationship with Sima?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How are gender role differences represented in The Topeka School? How are men and women represented, and how do the characters understand the differences between the men’s work and women’s work? How does the author shed light on these terms, or throw them into question?

Essay Topic 2

What is the weakest part of this novel? Of the different weak sections, which gives you the most insight in to the author’s theory of what a novel is, and what it ought to do? How would you have suggested strengthening these weak passages?

Essay Topic 3

Write an evaluative review of The Topeka School. What is this book’s place in our culture? Who will find this book most useful? What are its uses? What are its limitations?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,074 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample