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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 does Karina think Richard is writing to his father?

2. What machine helps Richard sleep well at night following the Christmas Eve incident?

3. How do Richard's brothers recommend he fight ALS?

4. Richard remembers his mother stopping his father from taking what to the piano?

5. Why does Richard continue to participate in the clinical trial?

Short Essay Questions

1. After moving back in with Karina, where does Richard stay? What is notable about this room?

2. While Karina is in New Orleans, what does Richard try to do? Why?

3. What advice does Bill give Karina?

4. After moving back in with Karina, how does Richard spend his time?

5. What is makowiec, and what happens when Richard asks to sample some?

6. What is ironic about Karina's asking Richard if he wants anything in Chapter Twenty-eight?

7. What surprising information do Richard's brothers tell him at the funeral? What is the effect on Richard?

8. Who is Dr. George and what service does he offer Richard?

9. What happens when Karina first sees Richard writing a letter to his father? How does Richard respond?

10. Explain Richard's love for his daughter versus his love for the piano.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Does Karina experience any change over the course of the novel? In what ways does she change and in what ways does she remain the same?

Essay Topic 2

At one point in the novel, Richard thinks that “living with ALS is a practice in the art of Zen” (98). Explain the truth behind this belief as evidenced by the novel.

Essay Topic 3

An epigraph is a short quotation at the beginning of a book. The epigraph to this novel is a quote from Rumi: “Why do you stay in prison when the door is so wide open?” How does the epigraph reflect the lives of Richard and Karina? How does the epigraph reflect the novel’s themes?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 807 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample