View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. When Joan wrote her first piece after John died, when was the last time that he didn't read one of her drafts?

2. How long did it take the ambulance to get to John's and Joan's apartment after the emergency call was received?

3. On what peninsula was John and Joan's first house of their married life?

4. Where did Joe Black grow up?

5. How much snow fell on Joan's birthday in 2003?

Short Essay Questions

1. How would Quintana spend weekends when she was at Rusk Institute?

2. Where did John and Joan meet the Blacks?

3. What would John and Joan do after the 1992 Democratic convention?

4. What arrangements were made to transfer Quintana from UCLA to New York University Hospital in New York?

5. Why did Joan resist the tracheostomy so fiercely?

6. What was the sequence of events the night that John died?

7. Why did Joan find herself in tears when she was walking to the opening of the Democratic convention?

8. What were some things that John said that Joan should or should not do if something happened to him?

9. What was John's last birthday present to Joan?

10. Why did John and Joan have trouble selling their house in Malibu?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

After trying to cover the Democratic convention, Joan believed that there was no place she could go and not be reminded of John. Discuss her statement and provide examples from the book.

Essay Topic 2

All her life, Joan turned to literature in times of trouble and John's death was no different. Compare the different types of literature that Joan read to help her cope with her grief and why some were more helpful than others. Give specific titles and examples from the book in support of your discussion.

Essay Topic 3

John insisted on a trip to Paris in November because he believed if he didn't go then, he would never see Paris before he died. Discuss why John believed that he was dying.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 852 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample