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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. To which of the following does the narrator compare Penny?

2. To which of the following does the narrator compare Nigel’s birthmark?

3. To which of the following does the narrator compare the Tiko?

4. Which of the following does the narrator report having dated in high school?

5. Which of the following does the narrator’s mother add to her fried chicken mix?

Short Essay Questions

1. What reasons does the narrator express for seeking Jo Jo’s help with Octavia’s campaign?

2. To what does the narrator ascribe Supercargo’s trouble with authorities?

3. What does the narrator note had been done to the face of his bellhop at Shanksted?

4. What problems does the narrator note in the Shanksted map?

5. What reason does the narrator give for misliking going to court, despite his skill therein?

6. What functions in the community does the narrator ascribe to the Chicken Coop?

7. What fantasy does Octavia note to the narrator?

8. What reasons does the narrator give for having distanced himself from Supercargo?

9. What prompts Nigel’s retreat into the art-supply closet at his school?

10. What inspirations does the narrator cite for his dancing at Octavia’s mansion?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The narrator remarks, “I knew my mother well enough to understand that she would object to my plans for Nigel even more vehemently than Penny did” (72). What causes might the narrator have for proceeding despite the certainty of opposition from his wife and mother? What in the novel and in experience suggest as much? How does it do so?

Essay Topic 2

The narrator remarks that “we lawyers are conservative creatures. Fly me a sheet of paper over an electrical current. Watch me convert it into paper” (209). What in the novel and in experience supports the remark? How does it do so?

Essay Topic 3

Consider the following comment: “Memories could be questioned, distorted, forgotten. But a transcript could not. The physical act of remembering is a bulwark against insanity” (128). Is the comment correct? What in the novel and experience suggest as much, and how do they do so?

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