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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. When Dexter tells Deborah, "she doesn't like you, and she doesn't want you on her turf" who is he referring to?

2. What type of vehicle passes Dexter, throws an object at his car, and jumps the raising draw bridge?

3. Who is Metro-Dade police's rival?

4. Metro-Dade has a policy of pulling the homicide team together approximately _____ after a murder.

5. In Chapter 8, who is in charge during the Metro police meeting?

Short Essay Questions

1. What object is sitting on top of the package of body parts found in the goalie's net at the ice rink? Who is the object left for? Why?

2. What does Dexter do on his date with Rita that upsets her? What is Dexter's reaction to the situation? What is he thinking about?

3. Why does Dexter attend the Metro's seventy-two hour meeting? Who is unhappy that Dexter is at the meeting? Explain.

4. Who is Dexter Morgan? Who is his father and what was his occupation? Describe the relationship Dexter has with his father.

5. Why does Dexter go out for a drive in the middle of the night? What is he hoping to find?

6. Describe Dexter's dream in Chapter 7. What literary device is the author using through this dream?

7. What is Detective LaGuerta's hypothesis as to why the Tamiami Trail Killer did not finish cutting his victim? What does Dexter find wrong with her hypothesis?

8. What "trophy" does the Tamiami Trail Killer give to Dexter? For what reason does Dexter believe the killer gave him this trophy?

9. Why are Dexter's co-workers surprised to see him at the crime scene in the beginning of the novel? What is Dexter's reaction to this news? Explain.

10. For what reason does Dexter say he does his job? Does he do it to catch the bad guy?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose a scene from Darkly Dreaming Dexter in which some of the most significant events are mental or psychological, such as an awakening, discovery, or change in consciousness. In a well-organized essay, describe how the author manages to give these internal events the sense of excitement, suspense and climax usually associated with external action.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay in which you show how a minor character in the novel functions in the work. Discuss how the character affects action, theme, or the development of other characters.

Essay Topic 3

Pick a character from the novel in which a character's success in achieving goals depends on keeping a secret and divulging it only at the right moment. Briefly explain the necessity for secrecy and how the character's choice to reveal or keep the secret affects the plot and contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.

(see the answer keys)

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