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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. In Chapter Five, whom does Morelli say is dangerous?

2. Whom is Stephanie staking out in the opening of the book?

3. In Chapter Six, Morelli shares his top secret case with Stephanie for what reason?

4. What does the protagonist, Stephanie Plum, do for a living?

5. In Chapter Seven, what does Grandma Mazur pull off the dead body in the casket?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Stephanie hire a former prostitute to work for Vinnie?

2. What do Grandma Mazur and Eula have in common?

3. When Stephanie and Morelli bump into each other at the crash, what does it symbolize?

4. What device does the author use to create a past between Stephanie and Morelli?

5. Why does Stephanie go to the storage unit in Chapter Four?

6. What do Stephanie and her Grandmother argue about prior to Moogey's funeral?

7. Stephanie attends dinner with her grandmother hoping to get a lead on her case through neighborhood gossip. The grandmother invites Stephanie to dinner in hopes that she will connect with Spiro, the surprise dinner guest. What do these actions say about the relationship of these women to each other?

8. Could Stephanie accomplish what she does if she lived somewhere that was not as close knit?

9. Why does Grandma Mazur pull the finger off of the corpse at the funeral home?

10. Why does Morelli want Stephanie to stay away from the Sandman?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

For someone portrayed as such a strong woman, Stephanie seems weak turning down the advances of Spiro. What attributes to this?

Part 1) Consider the many situations with Spiro that Stephanie is forced into. Did she put herself in those situations or was it due to outside forces?

Part 2) Debate why Stephanie chooses to avoid telling Spiro she is not interested in him. Is this behavior fair to Spiro?

Part 3) When Stephanie finally parts ways from Spiro, it is not through her hand. Normally such a strong character, what does this say about Stephanie when it comes to men and relationships?

Essay Topic 2

Stephanie's independence is a driving force in the novel. How would the story be different if the lead character was not so fiercely independent?

Part 1) Acknowledge the many ways Stephanie exerts her independence. How does her independence affect her interpersonal relationships? Does it help them or hurt them?

Part 2) Cite examples in the story where Stephanie's independence either helped or hurt her. Could she have prevented the attack on Grandma Mazur? Was it her independence that made her a target?

Part 3) What do you think would happen if Stephanie had relied more upon Morelli or her family during the story, instead of trying to handle everything alone? Would the case have been solved sooner? Would it have been solved at all?

Essay Topic 3

Within the novel, there were several graphic acts of violence. However, the author manipulated these opportunities for violence in such a way that the novel was not gory, but instead comical. Analyze three specific instances where violence was used and how the author managed to present a graphic concept while maintaining entertainment value.

(see the answer keys)

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