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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 has Michael come to get the narrator?

2. What animal does Vicky use as a philosophical example for the narrator?

3. What does the narrator's mother reveal about the narrator as a baby?

4. Where does the narrator wake up the next morning?

5. What does the narrator feel he must relearn?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does the narrator leap out of the limo to escape his conversation with Bernie, the drug lord?

2. What happens when the narrator and Amanda speak?

3. What exhibit in the museum is the narrator's favorite?

4. How does Michael's reappearance change the narrator's demeanor?

5. What catalysts are responsible for the narrator rising early, reading the paper, and arriving on time to work?

6. What does the narrator remember the most about Amanda, though he cannot remember what she looks like?

7. What elements of the fashion show does the narrator find contemptuous?

8. Why is a home-cooked meal such a novelty for the narrator?

9. Why does Megan invite the narrator to dinner at her apartment?

10. What kind of relationship did the narrator have with his mother?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast Vicky and Amanda.

1) What are some of Amanda's qualities? How do they mesh with the narrator's when the two first met?

2) What are some of Vicky's qualities? How are they a match or a mismatch for the narrator?

3) Which relationship is more promising for the narrator---a reconciliation with Amanda or new chapter with Vicky? Which woman is more appropriate for him?

Essay Topic 2

What is the narrator's lowest point in the novel, the one that drives him to improve? Is it true that one must hit rock bottom in order to bounce back? What is the difference between the narrator's escapades in nightclubs in the beginning of the novel vs. the end of the novel? Why does he keep seemingly reliving the same night over and over again?

Essay Topic 3

The narrator and Amanda were obviously mismatched.

1) How is the narrator's love of fiction detrimental to his relationship with Amanda?

2) What fantasies do the narrator and Amanda make of each other?

3) Though Amanda is portrayed as the shallower character, she is the one to end their fantasy. What does this imply about Amanda?

(see the answer keys)

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