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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. Where does Jenny go after being fired from the hospital?

2. What unique band of characters are in Garp's first important story?

3. What is the name of Jenny's publisher?

4. Who is Mrs. Ralph?

5. What does Jenny's father do for a living?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do the deaths of so many parents symbolize in the chapter entitled "The First Feminist Funeral, and Other Funerals"?

2. How does Ellen James fit into Garp's family?

3. How does Roberta Muldoon enter Garp's life?

4. Garp dies at the age of 33. Why is this number important to know in literature?

5. What does Jenny's insistence that she continue to wear her nurse's uniform symbolize?

6. What does Garp's dream (when Duncan is at Ralph's house) symbolize?

7. Why does Garp decide to become a writer?

8. Why does Jenny try to keep Helen and Garp apart?

9. Why is Jenny transferred out of the obstetrics ward?

10. What is the Under Toad?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast two major female characters within _The World According to Garp_. What are their differences? What are their similarities? Make sure to use multiple citations from the text.

Essay Topic 2

Technical Sergent Garp, while immobile and unable to speak in a hospital bed, plays a key role in the novel. Describe three literary techniques Irving uses to help develop the character of Technical Sergent Garp. Making sure to use citations and examples from the text to support your thesis.

Essay Topic 3

Many of the chapter titles in _The World According to Garp_ seem silly or disconnected. Choose four chapter titles and address why Irving chose the titles he did, what the titles mean, and how important each of the titles is within the larger scope of the text.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 646 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample