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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. Who is Hector?

2. What is the name of the poem that opens the novel?

3. Where do Annie's brother and his wife live?

4. Where did Annie go after she and Albie broke up?

5. How old is Joe Jones when he meets Gualtiero Agnello?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Orion's mother tell Orion about his father before she dies, in Section 1?

2. How does Annie describe Albie in Section 1?

3. How did Orion and Annie meet in Section 1?

4. How are Annie and Ruth Fletcher connected?

5. How does Annie describe the change in her son, Andrew, between his child hood and present day, in Section 1?

6. In Section 1, who is Siobhan?

7. Why did Albie and Annie decide to get married in Section 1?

8. In Section 1, Orion is accused of having a sexually inappropriate relationship with a student. How do his colleges react to these allegations and how does this impact Orion?

9. How does Annie describe her daughter Ariane, in Section 1?

10. Who is Ruth Fletcher?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the theme of sexuality in the text. How do sex and sexuality impact the characters in the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the titles of the five separate parts of the novel. What do their titles signify and symbolize in the novel?

Essay Topic 3

Are the members of the Oh family is a better or worse place by the end of the novel? Explain your reasoning using evidence from the text.

(see the answer keys)

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