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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 kind of a stock investment does Dr. Jordan’s mother talk about in her letter?

2. Why does Nancy lend Grace a dress in Chapter 8?

3. On what street is the law office of Kenneth MacKenzie?

4. What does Nancy tell Grace to do for dinner that Grace does not want to do?

5. What does Grace say to McDermott when he says he is going to kill Nancy in bed at the beginning of Chapter 9?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Jeremiah get Grace away from the implement dealer?

2. What does Rev. Verringer suggest Dr. Jordan talk about with the Tuesday Circle and why does Verringer suggest this?

3. What happens when the governor’s wife calls Grace by name when she is with Dr. Dupont and Dr. Jordan?

4. What does Grace tell Dr. Jordan about her birthday and what does Jeremiah ask her a few days after her birthday?

5. What does Grace say about Nancy and about McDermott after she has been at Kinnear’s a little while?

6. Where does Nancy ask Grace to go with her and what does she lend her for the occasion?

7. What does Dr. Dupont do with Grace and what does Grace say when Dr. Jordan asks her if she had sex with McDermott?

8. Why is Grace worried about coming to the end of her story?

9. What does Jamie Walsh say at Grace’s trial that hurts her chances of acquittal?

10. What is Grace’s response to McDermott’s assertion about Nancy’s death?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Upon her release from prison, the historical Grace was required to fill out a questionnaire, which still exists. The questionnaire asks the immediate cause of the crime for which Grace went to prison. She writes as an answer that it was from working in a house which also had a villain working there.

Discuss the above statement in terms of what Grace claims happened when Nancy and Thomas Kinnear were killed and in terms of what James McDermott says happened. Use examples from Alias Grace to support your response.

Essay Topic 2

Alias Grace belongs to the historical novel genre. Discuss the following:

Define the literary term "genre" and name three other genres in addition to the historical novel genre. What are the advantages and disadvantages of assigning a genre to a novel? What do you think is the difference between a historical novel and a novel or mystery?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss one of the following:

Trace and analyze the theme of sexuality in Alias Grace. Consider the following questions as you write: Examine which characters are most concerned with sexuality and about what their concern is centered. How does sexuality play such a major role in Alias Grace? How is sexuality at least partly to blame for Grace ending up in prison?

Trace and analyze the theme of feminism in Alias Grace. What does the novel have to say about the roles of women in the 1800’s? Is the view of women’s treatment and power in that era positive or negative? Why? What does feminism have to do with Grace’s life?

(see the answer keys)

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