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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 Laura gets together with her first boyfriend who used to tease her when they were younger, who is it?

2. What is NOT one false thing Laura tells the reader that people say about her?

3. What reason does the Log Lady give for knowing Laura would be coming to meet her?

4. The Log Lady tells Laura that "sometimes people go camping" (44) and that as a result, they do what?

5. What song does Laura's mom sing to her when she cannot sleep or when she has bad dreams?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Laura decides to be a better person during Maddy's visit, what does Laura state is her plan for achieving this goal?

2. How does Laura respond to Maddy's offer to share some of her cigarettes with Donna and Laura on their night in the fort?

3. What event occurs that results in Laura's meeting with the Log Lady?

4. When Donna leaves the fort to go to the bathroom, Maddy uses the opportunity to tell Laura something. How do her comments depict the novel's theme of prophecy?

5. What is the significance of Laura and Maddy's attempts to block the light coming from the house windows into their fort?

6. What method does Laura decide to use in order to drive BOB away and stop the sexual abuse he is inflicting on her?

7. What prompts Laura to proclaim that she is not sure that the Log Lady had been talking about the right Laura Palmer when she had predicted a happy life?

8. How does Laura feel during the sexual experience with Rick and Josh and how does her feeling relate to the sexual abuse to which she has been subjected?

9. How does Laura feel when she tries smoking for the first time?

10. When Maddy tells Laura and Donna what it feels like to kiss with tongues, Laura says the description makes her feel good inside, a feeling that she says is different. Though she cuts herself off from finishing her sentence, what does the reader know she is referring to?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the novel's treatment regarding the theme of hope? Discuss who has or does not have hope, and when, ultimately putting forth a claim stating the author's message about the nature of hope. Provide concrete details from the novel to support your claim.

Essay Topic 2

Most scholars agree that confessional writing that gives voice to female characters can serve many different purposes. It can show off, it can entertain, it can satisfy the desire for voyeurism, it can absolve, it can shock, and it can make visible women's interior lives and social issues that need to be addressed. What is the main purpose of Lynch's The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer and is it in keeping with how the main audience views the novel's purpose? Back up your points using concrete details from the novel.

Essay Topic 3

How does the reader's uncertainty about the true identity of Laura's abuser referred to as BOB ensure that Laura, the victim, will be the focal point of the story, rather than the abuser? How is this choice by the author a radical one and what message is it sending about the roles of abuser and abused within society? Prove your claims with quotes from the novel.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,285 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample