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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 is the address that Laura sees in her mind that compels her to go find its location?

2. What distinctive name does BOB always use when referring to Laura?

3. On August 6, 1986, Laura reports that she no longer sleeps at all. What is her reason?

4. When Laura has a dream about her diary, what happens in the dream?

5. How does Laura feel after her foray into the woods with the Canadians and with Donna?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What reason does Laura give for feeling sorry for Audrey Horne?

3. 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?

4. 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?

5. What does Laura say about her feelings after the escapade with the Canadian guys in the woods?

6. What is Donna's and Laura's goal when they return to the Book House all dressed up in short skirts and made up faces?

7. What does Donna do when Laura runs out of the house when they are discussing the breakdown of their friendship?

8. How is the theme of hope represented in the poem Laura writes on July 30, 1984, entitled "Someday Growing Up Will Come Easier"? (14)

9. 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?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Perform a psychoanalytical criticism of the novel, grounding your analysis in Laura's writings within her diary. Include quotes from both the novel and from scholarly sources focused on psychoanalytical techniques.

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

Discuss the significance of Laura's meeting with the Log Lady. What is the author's purpose for including this scene and what message does the scene send to the reader? Support your answer with quotes from the scene and from elsewhere within the novel.

(see the answer keys)

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