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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 began to see her life options dwindling, she often dreamt of living alone and sitting in what location?

2. The unnamed narrator states in San Francisco, 2012 that taking what action is "difficult and painful" (95)?

3. What is NOT one of the feelings the unnamed narrator had toward John after she confessed to her infidelity?

4. What food was John eating as a part of his health kick when the unnamed narrator told him that it would not improve his sperm count or motility?

5. What job did the unnamed narrator tell the other women belonged to the man with whom she had had an affair?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

5. How does the unnamed narrator describe the fertility problems she and John experienced during their marriage?

6. For what reason did the unnamed narrator decide not to become friends with Dominique?

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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