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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 Joan looks in the photograph album, what is wrong with the photos of her father?

2. Who does Joan think of as she stands on the street outside the secondhand store in Rome?

3. What does Paul offer to Joan?

4. Why does Joan begin to fear Paul?

5. What happens to Joan's hair while she's looking in the mirror in her bedroom when her parents go out?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Joan's approach to meeting Paul and having a relationship with him.

2. How does Joan's mother try to control Joan's weight?

3. Why does Joan bury her clothes?

4. Describe Leda Sprott's appearance and her significance at Joan's wedding.

5. Why does Joan like to go to the movies with her Aunt Lou?

6. How does Joan see her father differently after she returns home for the funeral?

7. How is Joan's relationship with Arthur based on lies?

8. Why does Joan want to start a new life?

9. Describe Joan's personality while in high school.

10. Explain why Joan does not tell her husband Arthur that she writes Costume Gothic novels.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

At the end of Lady Oracle, Joan says she will stop writing romance novels and instead write Science Fiction. Why do you think Joan wants to stop writing romances? Do you think writing romances contributes to Joan's dishonesty? Would she write a good Science Fiction tale? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Joan writes romance novels and prefers happy endings, but is dishonest and secretive in her own love life. Discuss how Joan's lies and secrets make positive, loving relationships impossible.

Essay Topic 3

What kind of person is Aunt Lou? How does she act as a positive role model for Joan? Does Joan ever act in ways that remind you of Aunt Lou? Provide specific examples from the text to support your responses.

(see the answer keys)

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