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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 students often sneaked out for donuts between class?

2. Where does Dara say Marie needs to come after Derek's death?

3. How does Dara know an intruder is in the house?

4. Who was to feign making the discovery of Derek's body in the studio?

5. What do the police tell Dara, Charlie and Marie not to do in the wake of Derek's death?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Marie tell Dara about their parents' death that surprises Dara?

2. What did Dara and Marie used to look forward to at the end of The Nutcracker season with their mother?

3. What does Dara repeatedly recall from her childhood and going to the carnival with her sister and father?

4. In Part III, what does Derek start to suggest to Dara that enrages and scares Dara?

5. What helps Charlie the most with his pain?

6. What does Charlie do once a month in an homage to Dara's mother?

7. What does Dara learn from the newspaper report of Derek's death that unsettles her?

8. What does Mrs. Bloom tell Dara about Derek's work in her house?

9. What does Dara tell Charlie and Marie that people must never find out about in the wake of Derek's death?

10. How does Derek die in Part IV?

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 are some of the traumas and difficulties Dara, Charlie and Marie survived in the aftermath of living with Mr. and Mrs. Durant? How do each of these characters remember their childhoods together in the Durant house? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

How does Charlie explain his transgressions and mistakes to Dara just before his suicide, and how does Dara react to these explanations? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 645 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample