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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. Marion believes Bradley is what to her heart?

2. What did the landlord do when Marion came to Isabelle’s apartment?

3. Why does Russ go to Ambrose’s office to talk to him after the car accident with Frances in the car?

4. Russ refers to his relationship with Frances as doing what?

5. What action does Marion take when she reads the note from Perry that he is at the Haefle’s party without her permission?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did Russ feel that he was a failure sexually to Frances?

2. Who sees Tanner kissing Becky in Tanner’s van? What does this character do with this information?

3. Where did Russ go instead of joining the military in the World War I, in 1944?

4. Why does Marion want to confess her unrequited love of Bradley to her son Perry?

5. Explain how Russ’s relationship with Rick Ambrose goes from love, to hate to love over the course of the novel.

6. What does Perry say to tell Larry to steal for him from the Cottrell house?

7. How did Russ use Larry to find out about how serious Frances was with her boyfriend?

8. Why does Clem hate Russ for not going to war when he was at an age to do so?

9. What is the “experiment” that Frances wants to do with Russ?

10. What does Marion say to Clem when he says that he is going into the military to go to the Vietnam War?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay on why throughout the novel, Marion at different times in her life wanted to murder someone, or chose to not murder someone. What did she mean when she said this to herself? (Hint: Was it a reflection of how she felt about herself at the time?).

Essay Topic 2

Specify some ways the character of Judson could have been more developed in the novel. Not much is said about the youngest child Judson; why do you think the author made him such a minor character in the book? Why did he have him as a sibling at all as part of the Hildebrandt family?

Essay Topic 3

Develop an argument that explains why Clem felt that he needed to quit college and join the military to go fight in the Vietnam War. Who influenced Clem to feel this way? How did his family react when he told him that he wanted to go to war instead of stay in college?

(see the answer keys)

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