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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 does Dara find out from Randi about Derek that she did not know before?

2. What does Charlie tell Derek to do when he begins talking about their house in Part IV at the studio?

3. What color is Marie's new purchase in Part III?

4. Who was the person who played Drosselmeier when Dara was young?

5. What was The Nutcracker, first and foremost?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What does Mrs. Bloom tell Dara about Derek and Marie that terrifies Dara?

3. What does Marie do outside that is strange and sad in the immediate aftermath of Derek's death?

4. How does Dara react to Mrs. Bloom's story about Derek?

5. What do Dara, Charlie and Marie tell the police about Derek's death?

6. Why does Dara eventually realize her mother never cast herself or Marie as Clara in The Nutcracker?

7. What helps Charlie the most with his pain?

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

9. Why does Dara call Mrs. Bloom in Part III?

10. Why does Bailey Bloom refuse to stop dancing in rehearsal, even after she gets sick?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

What does the Durant house seem to symbolize to Dara, Charlie, and Marie? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 675 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample