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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is delivered to the house that is emblematic of life going on in the Winters' household?
(a) Flowers.
(b) Books.
(c) Plants.
(d) Mulch.

2. What does Reta discover behind the furnace that belonged to the previous owners?
(a) A love letter.
(b) A child's report card.
(c) An invitation to a baby shower.
(d) A confession of infidelity.

3. What do Tom and the girls see as a contradiction about the American event they are fixated on?
(a) They see the Indy 500 as a contradiction to public concern for safety.
(b) They see the Kentucky Derby as a contradiction to government regulation of gambling.
(c) They see the presidential speech as a contradiction to the realities of the Iraq war.
(d) They see the election results in Florida as a contradiction to the checks and balances system in the constitution.

4. What constant preoccupation does Reta think is not a normal activity for anyone BUT writers?
(a) The constant preoccupation with the self.
(b) The constant preoccupation with a world that exists in the imagination.
(c) The constant preoccupation with real life and death concerns.
(d) The constant preoccupation with recreating the past.

5. During dinner, after Reta and Tom have finished their work, where do Reta's thoughts turn to besides Norah?
(a) The upcoming holidays.
(b) The wedding of her friend, Danielle.
(c) The bad news on television.
(d) The two main characters in her novel.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is playing the piano when Reta and Tom have finished their work after their package is delivered?

2. What does Reta do in lieu of attending the funeral for the person at Scribano & Lawrence?

3. What has Reta attempted to talk about with her daughters regarding sex?

4. Why does Reta also chide Valkner about his article "The History of Dictionaries"?

5. What is the name of the university Norah is accepted to in 1998?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Reta feel that normalcy is "monstrous?"

2. Describe the response of the Winters' family to seeing the hostel where Norah stays and its significance.

3. During Norah's visit from university the previous year, Reta states that she knew how "wildly out control" Norah was, how "she'd become dangerous to her own being." Describe why Reta comes to this conclusion.

4. What attempt does Reta make to bribe her daughter Norah to come home when she visits her on her street corner and how successful is she?

5. Describe Reta Winter's thoughts and feelings as the novel opens.

6. Why does Reta realize that she cannot create a perfect woman as a hero in her novel?

7. Why do Reta and her writer friends at the Orange Blossom Room conclude that the concepts of goodness and greatness are incompatible for women?

8. Why does Reta wake up with anxiety about cleaning her house?

9. Why does Danielle believe that Norah has embraced her powerlessness in society by living as a homeless person?

10. Why does Arthur love Alicia as a character and why is it significant?

(see the answer keys)

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