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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 school is Daniel attending when Jo meets him?

2. Who is the husband of Sadie's professor?

3. Why does Jo go to the attic when she gets home in the evening?

4. Whom do the police first question about Dana's murder?

5. What does Jo think about as she drives home after seeing Eli in the office?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Jo confuse Jean Bennett when telling her how Jo knows Jean's husband, Eli Mayhew?

2. How well does Licia adapt to living in the group house?

3. What does Dana think Licia might be when she catches Licia in lies?

4. Why is marrying Daniel quite opposite from the life she had been living in the group house?

5. Describe the night when Licia finds Dana's dead body in the house.

6. What is the premise of WHILE I WAS GONE?

7. What was the nature of the relationship between Licia and Dana?

8. How did Jo get her start in veterinary medicine?

9. What does Jo say might account for her feeling off during dinner with Daniel?

10. What is the first theory the police have regarding Dana's murder?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Create a character study of Jo. What are her physical characteristics? What are her motivations? What are her fears? What are her dreams? What else can you say about Jo?

Essay Topic 2

Explain the significance of the novel's title--WHILE I WAS GONE. Why did Miller choose this title? Is there an understood message in the title? Is there another title you can suggest that might be more appropriate?

Essay Topic 3

What do you think Jo is really searching for in her life? Why is she always dissatisfied with the state of her life? What would really make Jo happy? Why was the happiest time in Jo's life a time when she was living with an alias?

(see the answer keys)

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