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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. When the unnamed narrator tells the group of women about the professor's control of her, she tells a story about what object?

2. What kind of drink did the unnamed narrator order when she sat down at the hotel bar?

3. Dominique, Sandra, and the unnamed narrator all worked in which positions?

4. While the unnamed narrator had a discussion with the lawyer featured in Santa Barbara, 2016, her babysitter had expected her how long ago?

5. In what location does the section entitled San Francisco, 2012 open?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What message does Popkey send within the pages of Topics of Conversation concerning the link between secrecy and control?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss John's role within the events of the novel and explain how his character helps to further develop certain themes inherent in Popkey's novel Topics of Conversation.

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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