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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 calendar Auntie Gladys gave to Ruby for Christmas?

2. What new band does Patricia discover in the summer of 1963?

3. Who dies at the end of 1963?

4. Which of Bunty's relatives does not come to the funeral?

5. Why does Christine need an ambulance?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens to Rags during Chapter Nine?

2. How does George die?

3. What is different about the birthday party Ruby has in Chapter Eight?

4. How do Kathleen and Ruby spend the summer after finishing high school?

5. What is the basic tenet of Ruby's Lost Property Cupboard theory of the afterlife?

6. Why does Bunty abandon the ironing so suddenly the night of the fire?

7. What is Ruby's "reward" for her morning minding the pet Shop by herself?

8. How does Ruby discover she had a twin sister?

9. What is the reaction Patricia and Ruby have to seeing Gillian's headstone?

10. What does Bunty come into the shop with at the beginning of Chapter Ten?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Atkinson use time to create her plot: is it strictly linear? How is it manipulated to her advantage? How does this use of time shape characters?

Essay Topic 2

At the end of the novel, as she parts from Ruby at the train station, Patricia says, "The past is what you leave behind in life, Ruby," and Ruby answers, "Nonsense, Patricia, the past's what you take with you." Which phillosophy do you think Atkinson believes? Why?

Essay Topic 3

How does the author's use of foreshadowing throughout this novel enhance or detract from the story? Be specific.

(see the answer keys)

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