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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. Why is Brian in Prescott?

2. What kind of car is the man driving across the desert?

3. What is the name of the Bruegel painting Hoover sees in the magazine?

4. What does Nick stare at after his dream?

5. What is the name of Klara's recently deceased husband?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Nick say his mother likes Jackie Gleason so much?

2. Why does Marian say she takes heroin?

3. Why does Nick's wife like Nick's mother?

4. How does Cotter get into the baseball game without paying?

5. Why does Nick think his mother should move to Phoenix?

6. How are Nick and Klara's lives different?

7. How does Jackie Gleason entertain members of the crowd?

8. Who was Albert Bronzini?

9. Why does Mike think his mother should stay in New York?

10. What do people in Phoenix think about Nick's roots?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What decisions do the students think Nick regrets in his life? Choose one of the decisions he regrets and dicuss how his life would have been different if he had taken a different decision?

Essay Topic 2

Pick a character from the book and discuss his or her goals and motives. Do they achieve their motive? Do they share similar goals and motives with other characters? Do their goals clash with other characters? How do the characters goals and motives affect their interaction with each other?

Essay Topic 3

Why has the author chosen Nick and Klara's affair as the central part of his story? Choose two other characters that the author could ahve chosen as the central part of his story. How would the novel change?

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