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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is Peyton's interest in men?
(a) What they are able to give her.
(b) Where they are going to college.
(c) She wants to be in love.
(d) She wants to lose her virginity.

2. How many years have Milton and Helen been separated?
(a) Two months.
(b) Two weeks.
(c) Two years.
(d) One year.

3. What did Helen call the person in #48?
(a) A witch.
(b) A scourge.
(c) A devil.
(d) An embarrassment.

4. What did Milton learn to do in college?
(a) Drink heavily.
(b) Shoot heroin.
(c) Study.
(d) Drive.

5. In what month does the body arrive at the train station?
(a) March.
(b) January.
(c) August.
(d) November.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is Milton talking to when Dolly finds him?

2. What distinguishing characteristic has Milton had since childhood?

3. What about Dolly now irritates Milton?

4. Where does the Loftis family live?

5. Who is Milton Loftis' younger daughter?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who are the main characters in LIE DOWN IN DARKNESS?

2. How does the author indicate the importance of Milton's father's words?

3. How does the author provide more in-depth information about Milton and Helen's marriage?

4. What is the symbolism of the hearse that keeps breaking down on the way to the cemetery?

5. For what reasons do Helen and Milton blame each other for their collapsing marriage?

6. How do Dolly and Helen differ in their views on motherhood?

7. How does the narrator address the reader and how is setting established in the novel?

8. Describe Peyton's interactions with men and what value they have for her.

9. Describe Dolly's feelings about Peyton.

10. What does Milton tell Dolly about Peyton's distressful adjustment to New York City?

(see the answer keys)

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