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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 question about Norah does Lois Winters ask every night at dinner?

2. In her letter about the obituary in the Globe and Mail, what does Reta state she has missed out on?

3. What does Reta think most people would assume about the inscription on Mary Leland's headstone?

4. In the cemetery, what is the inscription beneath Mary Leland's name on her headstone?

5. Who has been appointed to a university Chair in Theology?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Reta's central point in her letter to Helt?

2. Why does an older friend of Reta's advise her to read obituaries as a young writer?

3. What is Reta's impression of Arthur Springer when she finally meets him at her home in January and how do they get into a heated discussion?

4. When Reta and Tom consult a psychiatrist about Norah, what does he tell them and how do they respond?

5. What does Reta notice on Norah's wrists that cause Tom to forget his trilobites and research stress and trauma?

6. Why don't the Winters' want to discuss the fact that Norah probably gave her Christmas package away?

7. In her letter to Russell Sandor, Reta states that she fears nothing. Why does she feel this way and how does she prove it in her letter?

8. According to Gemma Walsh, Reta's friend who has been appointed Chair of Theology, the Christian faith is balance on the words "already" and "not yet." Why does Reta find this significant?

9. According to Reta, why is goodness not a guaranteed virtue?

10. What rationale does Reta offer about the importance of novels despite moral injustice in the world?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the plot and subplot of the novel, including the rising action, climax, and resolution for both.

Essay Topic 2

In the novel, Reta has several flashbacks about Norah in the weeks before her disappearance. Choose three memories and discuss what they reveal about Reta, Norah, and the nature of their relationship.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Shields' portrayal of the media in the novel, responding to the following questions:

1. What role does the media have in advancing the plot?

2. What is Reta's relationship to the media?

3. Is it an amicable or hostile relationship and why?

(see the answer keys)

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