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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. How many months before the agent and the narrator's fancy dinner in Chelsea did the agent tell him she thought he could 'get a strong six-figure' advance based on a story" (3) he had written for the New Yorker?

2. Alex and the unnamed narrator first met in college in a class about what topic?

3. In what year of college was the unnamed narrator enrolled when he met Alex?

4. Of how many square feet is the author's third floor apartment composed?

5. The reader is reminded that the unnamed narrator chose to use the name Liza to represent Alex due to what reason?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what setting does the opening scene of "The Golden Vanity" take place?

2. What event have the unnamed narrator and his agent just been celebrating when the novel opens, and why is the occasion bittersweet for the unnamed narrator?

3. What situation causes the author a great deal of anxiety when the librarian arrives for their meeting?

4. Of what type of metafiction is Part Two: The Golden Vanity composed?

5. Who is Alena?

6. Explain the art installation Alex and the unnamed narrator attend in Part One.

7. Name and discuss one theme presented within 10:04's epigraph.

8. What event does the author recall at the end of the story "The Golden Vanity," causing him to conclude that the event had never happened?

9. What advice from Dr. Roberts does the author apply within "The Golden Vanity" and how does he apply it?

10. What medical procedure does the author require and why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay that discusses the symbolism of the cover art chosen for 10:04.

Essay Topic 2

Sensory details are used frequently by Lerner in order to create vivid pictures of each character's progression through the narrative of 10:04. Choose three scenes in which sensory details are heavily used and discuss how the sensory details used serve Lerner’s creation of vivid characters to populate the narrative.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Lerner’s use of metaphor, simile, imagery, and other literary devices as a means to send particular thematic messages within the narrative of 10:04.

(see the answer keys)

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