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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 did the unnamed narrator find out when she visited the fertility doctor to get checked out?

2. What pseudonym did the unnamed narrator use when she told the other women about her affair with a married professor?

3. The unnamed narrator used to mix what kind of alcohol with her coffee each morning, as portrayed within Santa Barbara, 2016?

4. Which object does the unnamed narrator use in a metaphor describing her admission of adultery to John?

5. The unnamed narrator estimates that her conversation with the lawyer featured in Santa Barbara took place around what time of night?

Short Essay Questions

1. What tactics did the unnamed narrator use to help herself summon enthusiasm about pursuing a pregnancy with John?

2. What did the unnamed narrator do for a living during her marriage to John?

3. What worldview did Fran express during her tirade depicted in Fresno, 2014 and how does the narrator now view Fran's comments?

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

5. What is the setting of the section entitled Fresno, 2014 and which three new characters are introduced?

6. What act does the unnamed narrator describe as having been attractive due to its promise of "finite pleasure" (180)?

7. Discuss an element of the unnamed narrator's writing voice that shares qualities with her speaking voice.

8. In what way does Popkey purposely mislead the reader at the start of the section called San Francisco, 2012?

9. What three feelings does the unnamed narrator recall feeling when John expressed interest in marriage counseling?

10. What method did the unnamed narrator eventually use to end her marriage and why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How is the theme of desire portrayed in Topics of Conversation? Examine Popkey's treatment of and messages regarding desire throughout the book.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Popkey’s use of metaphor, simile, imagery, and other literary devices as a means to send particular thematic messages within the narrative of Topics of Conversation.

Essay Topic 3

Write a critical essay about Topics of Conversation while using the critical power theory lens of feminist theory. Use textual evidence to back up your strong, specific claim regarding the novel's treatment of gender roles, the objectification of women, female empowerment, misogyny's role within society, or any other issues related to feminist theory that can be found in the novel.

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