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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. Which of the four women at the gathering featured in Fresno, 2014 is French and South African?

2. What adjective does the unnamed narrator now use to describe the face of the man with whom she had a one-night stand?

3. The unnamed narrator states in San Francisco, 2012 that, "Knowing someone is" how many "parts divination" (74)?

4. Which poet's name did the unnamed narrator's role-playing partner fail to recognize?

5. Which upcoming event produced in the unnamed narrator feelings of satisfaction mixed with fear?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what way does the unnamed narrator find her previous view of intimacy problematic?

2. When the identity of the father of the unnamed narrator's child is finally revealed, who is it?

3. How does Popkey employ a metaphor to indicate the pain the unnamed narrator caused John with her infidelity?

4. How did the unnamed narrator always feel about the prospect of having a baby?

5. Describe the difference between the unnamed narrator's view of therapy in 2014 and her current view.

6. What object does the unnamed narrator's mother give to her in the section entitled Los Angeles, 2012 and why?

7. Discuss the stream-of-consciousness style in which Topics of Conversation is written.

8. Discuss at least one negative coping mechanism that the unnamed narrator uses once she has gotten sober.

9. What are the contents of the story that the woman in Santa Barbara told the unnamed narrator as they swam in the ocean?

10. For what reason did the unnamed narrator make several attempts to commit adultery before she was successful?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the interplay between the final passages in Topics of Conversation and one of the novel's main messages. How does Popkey make connections between these elements and how does their juxtaposition help them get across one main message of the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the instances of irony within the narrative of Topics of Conversation and analyze Popkey’s purpose for including each instance you discuss.

Essay Topic 3

Analyze the ways in which the themes of adaptability and resignation appear within Popkey’s novel Topics of Conversation. What message is Popkey sending about these two themes over the course of the narrative?

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