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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 does Charlie get injured?

2. What has Derek started asking Dara about that makes her nervous in the end of Part II?

3. What does Dr. Weston want to discuss with Dara in Part II?

4. How does Marie break in toe shoes?

5. How does Mrs. Durant tell Dara to think about a dancer's turnout?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do Dara's and Marie's parents die?

2. What does Dara think about as the major differences between herself and Marie?

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

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

5. Why does Dara refuse to touch students past a certain age?

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

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

8. What does Dara's, Charlie's, and Marie's house look like?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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 3

Why is Dara so reluctant to touch Corbin Lesterio, or any of the older students at the ballet school? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

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