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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. Where are the scars Cecilia tried to hide?

2. Which of these is NOT something the boys get Joe to do?

3. Who leaves the party early?

4. What happens just as the paramedics arrive?

5. What is Mrs. Lisbon's reaction to Cecilia's asking to leave the party?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the Lisbon girls' party differ from other parties the boys have attended?

2. How did the boys obtain Cecilia's diary?

3. Describe Cecilia's ascent from the party to her bedroom.

4. What does the cemetery where Cecilia's service is held look like?

5. Describe the appearance of Cecilia's diary.

6. What does Peter Sissen find in the Lisbon girls' bathroom?

7. What major revelation do the boys have upon entering the Lisbon girls' party?

8. What are Cecilia's two moods toward the end of the diary?

9. Why were the boys happy that Joe came to the party?

10. What were Mr. Lisbon's problems with the cemeteries he visited?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Please discuss the use and effectiveness of foreshadowing throughout the novel. How does Eugenides use it to set the tone? How does it affect the reader? Is it effective? Please explain your answer.

Essay Topic 2

The Virgin Suicides is written from an unusual first-person plural point of view. How does this point of view affect how the story is told? What characters are part of the "we," and why do you think the author uses this deliberate ambiguity?

Essay Topic 3

During the media frenzy following the triple suicide, the boys, "For the first time ever...sympathized with the President because we saw how wildly our sphere of influence was misrepresented by those in no position to know what was going on." Please explain what they meant by this and discuss its justification.

(see the answer keys)

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