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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. Why does the Ward family have to move from Boise into the canyon?

2. Where does Frank touch Susan that makes her yearn for him?

3. How long does Ollie stay away from his family after leaving Boise to attend St. Paul's in 1890?

4. Where did Shelley get the manifesto?

5. Where does Susan send Agnes and Betsy so she and Oliver can talk?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Frank commit suicide?

2. How does Oliver disappoint Susan and embarrass her to her family and friends?

3. Why does Lyman feel more depressed than interested at this point in his writing work ?

4. How does Shelley's reading of the manifesto bring the reader back to the present day of Lyman's 1970?

5. What is the underlying message to Augusta in Susan's letter from Mexico?

6. Why did Susan send Ollie away?

7. What are Oliver's reasons for sending Pricey back to England?

8. Susan and Oliver separate as he takes the surveying job and she moves the family to Victoria BC - how does part of the Wards' life compare with Lyman's own personal history?

9. What is the final rip in the fabric of the Ward marriage?

10. What is the tone of Susan's letter to Augusta in this chapter?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why did Oliver continue to fail? Take each job and analyze what he could have done differently to keep the position and stay with that company. Did he make the decision that was best for his family each time?

Essay Topic 2

Why was Susan so enamored of Mexico? Why was she able to produce her illustrations in such quantity while there?

Essay Topic 3

What are Susan and Oliver's basic complaints about each other? How do they try to resolve it, if at all? Give examples of her anger towards him, and his towards her.

(see the answer keys)

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