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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 is Cecilia during the majority of the party?

2. Where do the boys congregate after changing out of their party clothes?

3. Who finds Cecilia's body first?

4. On whom does Dominic Palazzano have a crush?

5. How long before her death does Cecilia begin writing her diary?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. What did Cecilia do on the last day of her life?

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

6. When Peter Sissen reports back to the boys about his time inside the Lisbon house, what does Paul Baldino vow to do?

7. How did the emergency workers retrieve Cecilia's body?

8. What does Cecilia look like in her coffin?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe several ways in which the parents of the neighborhood attempt to protect or shield their children from the Lisbons' suicides. Do their efforts succeed? If so, how? If not, why not?

Essay Topic 2

We have talked a lot about setting in the context of this novel. Please discuss in an essay what the setting of The Virgin Suicides is, how it affects the story, how it affects the characters, and how the characters affect the setting.

Essay Topic 3

One of the major themes of The Virgin Suicides is grief. How do different characters in the novel deal with their grief? Are some ways more effective than others? Why or why not?

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