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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 is on the note that the narrator leaves for Louise?

2. Which ex-lover seems to effect the narrator the most?

3. When the narrator and his or her boss share a bed, why doesn't anything sexual happen between them?

4. What bill does the narrator pay for a full year before moving?

5. What is the name of the narrator's boss?

Short Essay Questions

1. What role does the theme "temptation" play in the novel?

2. Describe the narrator's search for Louise.

3. How does the narrator grieve in the countryside?

4. How does Louise affect the narrator's work?

5. Why does Louise say that she doesn't need treatment? Is she telling the truth?

6. How does the narrator prove deep love for Louise?

7. What is Elgin's goal throughout the novel? Has he achieved this goal yet?

8. Why isn't the narrator interested in Gail sexually?

9. What is significant about the narrator and Louise going on vacation together?

10. What is the narrator's goal throughout the novel? Has he or she achieved it so far?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe Louise's character. What risks are involved in dating her? Is Louise similar to any of the narrator's former lovers? What might be foreshadowing the narrator's relationship with Louise?

Essay Topic 2

Describe Elgin as a character in this novel. Why is Elgin significant? What is his role in the story? What makes him likable or unlikable? What quote defines him the most?

Essay Topic 3

How does suspicion and mistrust become a theme in the novel? Describe an instance in the novel, and explain why this is significant.

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