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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 did Jon's ex-girlfriend throw at him and Elaine?

2. Which of the girls is physically maturing ahead of the others?

3. What does Cordelia warn that nightshade berries do?

4. What do Elaine's friends say she's done wrong that makes them not speak to her at the Christmas parade?

5. What is Elaine's favorite color?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the condition of the city where the narrator used to get off the streetcar, compared to how the narrator remembers it?

2. How does Elaine feel when she first meets Cordelia?

3. How does Elaine behave during the interview?

4. Describe how Elaine and Cordelia are different in biology class.

5. What view did Elaine have of Toronto as a child?

6. What was Elaine's reaction to statues of the Virgin Mary she saw in churches?

7. What is Stephen worried about, when Elaine goes to high school?

8. Why doesn't Charna want Elaine to be in the gallery when people begin arriving for the art retrospective?

9. How do Elaine's parents feel about Stephen's death?

10. How does Elaine's mother greet her after she comes out of the cold water?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Emotional pain in the novel is often linked to physical pain. Discuss the relationship of physical and emotional pain in the novel.

1) Why does Elaine injure her fingers and feet? How is her physical pain linked to emotional pain?

2) Discuss Elaine's experience of physical and emotional pain in times of crisis, such as when she is trapped in the ravine and when she is left in the dark hole.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the significance of Elaine's art retrospective.

1) How does the art retrospective make Elaine look back on her life? How is her artwork related to the progression of her life?

2) How does Elaine feel about the art retrospective, and why does she feel this way? How does she feel about her paintings and about her career as an artist?

3) Why does Elaine want her pictures presented chronologically?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the use of point of view in the book.

1) Why is this book told in the first person, from Elaine's point of view? How would it be different if it were told by a different narrator?

2) Does Elaine provide an accurate account of the world around her? How is her view of the world biased or flawed?

3) What would the reader gain from understanding Cordelia's perspective, or the perspective of another character?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 677 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample