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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. Which contractor do the Durants eventually hire?

2. What do Dara and Charlie have for breakfast in Part II together?

3. What did Marie tell Dara when they were children and talked about their own bodies?

4. What must every dancer achieve?

5. What does Dara do with Marie's new scarf?

Short Essay Questions

1. What begins to go wrong with the contractor, Derek, at the dance studio in Part II?

2. How do Charlie, Dara and Marie make the choice to not only repair, but expand, the studio?

3. How do the parents at the school of dance generally interact with Dara?

4. What does Dara not want Marie to share with Derek in Part II about their lives?

5. What does Dara notice about Marie when she is around Derek, the contractor?

6. What has Marie done recently, before the start of the book, that Charlie and Dara are stung by?

7. What does Dara's and Marie's mother devote her life to?

8. What does Marie tell Dara about her affair with Derek?

9. How do Charlie, Marie and Dara originally meet?

10. What happens at the dance school in Part I that sets Dara, Marie and Charlie on a terrible trajectory?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Abbott characterize The Nutcracker as a story and as a ballet, and how does this characterization help set the backdrop and tone to the entire novel? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

What is Dara's overriding impression and memory of hers and Marie's mother? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your answers.

Essay Topic 3

How do Charlie's terrible dance-related injuries affect his and Dara's marriage? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your answers.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 633 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample