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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Alice want to draw?
(a) Her future.
(b) Her aunt and uncle, their hands, their glasses.
(c) Mother, as she used to be.
(d) The desert at sunset.

2. What does Mother say about Nonna's feelings for her children?
(a) That she was overprotective and worried constantly.
(b) That she resented both of her children.
(c) That she ignored both of her children.
(d) That she only had room in her heart for Billy.

3. Why doesn't Mother attend the funeral in Part Three?
(a) She has been committed again.
(b) She is not notified in time.
(c) She has not forgiven the deceased.
(d) She refuses to step foot in the Big House.

4. What type of a place is the location where Mother lives in Part Four?
(a) A nursing home.
(b) A rehab clinic.
(c) A trailer.
(d) A singles apartment.

5. Where is Arthur when he dies, according to events in Part Four?
(a) Home.
(b) By the side of the road.
(c) In the hospital.
(d) In the river.

6. Where does Alice stay during Arthur's funeral?
(a) At Uncle Billy's.
(b) With Arlette.
(c) At the Big House.
(d) In a hotel.

7. Who is Mr. Early?
(a) A famous local painter.
(b) A high school English teacher.
(c) A piano teacher.
(d) Mother's new boyfriend.

8. How does Alice describe Mr. Early when he taught high school?
(a) The unexpected man who no one recognizes once he speaks.
(b) Bursting out of his ill fitting suit with prose and poetry.
(c) An endless fountain of words, energy and hope.
(d) Dancing on his toes, whooping over the sounds the poet makes.

9. Where does Mother live at the time of Nonna's funeral?
(a) The Big House.
(b) California.
(c) The San.
(d) Florida.

10. What job does Alice have when she visits Mother after Nonna's funeral?
(a) She is a teacher.
(b) She is a counselor.
(c) She is a social worker.
(d) She is a waitress.

11. Who pays for Arthur's funeral arrangements?
(a) Uncle Billy and Aunt Frances.
(b) Nonna's estate.
(c) Arthur had money set aside.
(d) Alice sells her pearls to pay for it.

12. Where do Alice and Aunt Frances go together in the final chapter?
(a) On a boat tour.
(b) To visit Mother.
(c) For a walk around the lake.
(d) On a jeep ride to the mountains.

13. What does Alice expect when she visits her mother in the last chapter?
(a) That Mother will be unable to speak.
(b) That the nurses will have plans for Mother's room.
(c) That Mother will die.
(d) That she will pay more than she can afford for Mother's burial.

14. What does Alice ask Mother to sign in Part Four?
(a) A card for Uncle Billy.
(b) A medical proxy form.
(c) A loan for Alice.
(d) Bank business papers.

15. What is the last word that Mother speaks in the novel?
(a) More.
(b) Father.
(c) Alice.
(d) Mother.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Alice say was Nonna's opinion of Father?

2. Who makes Alice a cake?

3. How is Nonna described in Part Two:The Big House-Arthur?

4. How does Alice feel about Mr. Early?

5. Where does Alice say that Father is buried?

(see the answer keys)

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