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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 the condition of Sid's barn?

2. What does Charity insist that she is doing?

3. Who has a birthday party at the beginning of Part 2: Chapter 2?

4. Who walks up to meet the family as the picnic is ending?

5. What new experience does Larry have in Vermont?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain the method that Sally has of categorizing her memories.

2. How does the theme of rescue extend in Part 2: Chapter 2?

3. How has Sid and Charity's home changed from the time the Langs first saw it in 1938?

4. How is Charity managing her illness?

5. To what does Larry compare the drowning mouse he comes across while searching for Sid?

6. How has the necessity for rescue changed between the two couples?

7. How does Charity maintain control even though her death is imminent?

8. Explain how Charity's simplistic view of life is in contrast to both Sid and the Langs?

9. What is the situation the characters find themselves in when the novel returns to the present day in 1972?

10. Why does Sid not want to go on the family picnic?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The author begins the story in the present day and tells the story through a series of flashbacks. Why did he choose to tell his story this way? In what way is a flashback technique more interesting for a reader? In what ways is it more complicated?

Essay Topic 2

The Adam and Eve metaphor continues when Sally gets ill. Why does Larry know that they are about to be "banished from paradise?" What is the outcome of Larry's premonition? Is he right or wrong? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

Describe the state of Sid's barn wood shop and home office. How does the state of his rooms mirror the state of his spirit? Explain.

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