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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 does Tom think Norah might be suffering from?

2. Why does Arthur tell Reta the day after Christmas that it is urgent that she come to New York?

3. What does Tracy Halliday want a huge jar of marbles to represent for Norah?

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

5. What newspaper does Emily Helt write for?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How does the staff's response at the hostel regarding Norah's gloves indicate her invisibility as a street person?

3. At the end of the novel, what do we learn about the reason for Norah's disappearance and subsequent homelessness?

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

5. Why does Reta call Dennis Ford-Halpern's omission of women in his book "The Goodness Gap" a "moral dilemma in itself"?

6. Why does Arthur Springer call one day after Christmas and what is Reta's response?

7. How does Arthur feel about Roman, the other main character in Reta's novel?

8. What is Lois's true opinion of what happened to Norah that she is afraid to express?

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

10. 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?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the tone of "Unless," responding to the following questions:

1. How does the tone of the novel exemplify the emotional state of the characters?

2. Does the tone shift or change throughout the novel? Where and how?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the role that faith plays in the novel. What are the differences between personal and religious faith? Discuss Reta's views on faith.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the role of family in the novel, responding to the following questions:

1. What responsibilities do family members share?

2. Does Shields portray the Winters family as being functional or dysfunctional?

3. How are the Winters family members treated?

4. Who is accepted as a family member and who is not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 790 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample