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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 design was on the formal china that Fenno's mother selected when she got married?

2. What type of container holds the ashes for Paul?

3. Where did Tony Best grow up?

4. How many men are on the tour to Greece in Chapter 1?

5. What color eyes did Paul's wife have?

Short Essay Questions

1. What other option did Fenno have instead of opening the bookstore with Ralph?

2. What is inside the envelope that Fenno finds addressed to him in his father's desk?

3. What does Fenno say about his mother's death in Chapter 4?

4. How many dogs were left after Maureen died, and what happened to them?

5. How long were Paul and Maureen married before they had children, and why did it take so long?

6. What was a major expenditure in furnishing the bookstore, and why was it a wise investment?

7. Who was Tony Best?

8. What are Fenno's nieces trying to do to him when he wakes at the beginning of Chapter 6?

9. What is the favorite piece that Marjorie buys on the trip to Greece?

10. Why did Mal ask Fenno to be his health proxy?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Fern and Fenno reach New York at the end of the novel. How does Fern think that a trip through the Midtown Tunnel makes it difficult to know where you will emerge? How does that relate to Fern’s view of life? In what way do the twists and turns of life, like the tunnel, always take people where they intended to be?

Essay Topic 2

The author said that love depends “upon an ecosystem, a context.” What is meant by that phrase? In what ways is the delicacy of love revealed in the novel? Is love still attainable in spite of its fragility?

Essay Topic 3

Happiness is important for Paul and for Fenno. How are the two men looking for happiness? Do either man achieve happiness? If so, how do they attain it?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 820 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample