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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 name of the movie theater Lisa wants Irene to take her to while visited Omaha?

2. What justification does Irene make to Peter about moving back to Tama?

3. When Peter inquires about Irene attending a new church, what does Irene tell him?

4. What does Jeremy ask Sarah Jane for when he arrives at Lisa's farmhouse?

5. Where does Lisa say that these other people from the videos went in Part Three, Chapter 2?

Short Essay Questions

1. How and why does Sarah Jane justify not providing Jeremy access to the phone at the farmhouse after Ezra's accident?

2. When Irene leaves Bible study early and tells Peter it is because the others did not like the question she is asking, what sort of questions is Irene most likely asking that are controversial?

3. In what ways is Irene's new married life in Crescent different from when she lived in Tama? How does the move emotionally affect her?

4. How does Irene view Peter Sample's courtship? What brings her to marry Peter, even though internally she has reservations?

5. How is Peter Sample's life described at the start of Part Two, Chapter 1? Do not use the exact information provided, but make inferences that can be drawn. Write in your own words.

6. How does Jeremy's lack of knowledge about Stephanie's apartment help him discover something critical about himself?

7. Why are Jeremy and Stephanie surprised to meet Lisa on her porch when they travel there in the middle of the night?

8. The story shifts to the future as Jeremy works his new job and demolishes a shed. It ends by saying, "The shock of the impact, the satisfying crunch of boards cracking under hard steel, the muffled sounds of everything inside being quickly crumpled into unrecognizable pulp" (160). What does Jeremy's illustration say about his past experience in Lisa's shed? In what ways does the account provide further insight into Jeremy's development as a character?

9. Why does Jeremy relate a weekend in Vegas to what happens to him at Lisa house in Part Three, Chapter 4?

10. What are some of the first signs that Irene is taking her new church very seriously, and that it may be beginning to take over her life?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Jeremy and Stephanie visit Lisa's farmhouse for the first time, and they argue whether or not to contact the police after they leave, because Lisa has videotaped them and asked strange questions. At the end of the section, Jeremy states, "Try to put yourself in her [Lisa] shoes" (184). What does Jeremy mean by this statement? How does Jeremy know what it is like to be in Lisa's shoes? What past knowledge and events explain why Lisa's previous experiences cause her to make the videos?

Essay Topic 2

Summarize Jeremy's life in Part One, Chapters 1-2. Examine his daily activities are and how he feels about his life's trajectory. Why does the author choose to start the novel off by focusing the humdrum nature of Jeremy's existence? How does this opening to the novel contrast to the way Jeremy's actually unfolds? How does his life show progress or change and what still remains the same for Jeremy?

Essay Topic 3

Part Three, Chapter 4 is set in the future and casts Jeremy as a worker who is rebuilding a shed. His co-worker is surprised that Jeremy knows so much about old sheds and how they are made. Jeremy's memories of being at Lisa Sample’s years before overtake him, and new discoveries are presented through this experience. What does Jeremy explain about his experience at Lisa's house? How do his understandings and revealings relate to Jeremy's growth and change of character from past to present?

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