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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. What amuses Eileen about Elizabeth in Chapter 2?

2. What does Aisling think of intercourse in Chapter 7?

3. How many times do Elizabeth's classmates baptize her?

4. Where in Ireland is Elizabeth sent?

5. What does Joannie wonder about Violet and Harry's relationship in Chapter 7?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Elizabeth pray for in Chapter 5?

2. What does Violet worry about Elizabeth in Chapter 3?

3. When does Elizabeth realize that Stone will never meet her half way in their relationship?

4. How does Violet annoy Eileen in Chapter 4?

5. Who does Violet White damn at the beginning of the novel?

6. What secret does Eileen keep from her family in Chapter 5?

7. In Chapter 9, why does Aisling decide she wants to travel? What opportunity soon presents itself?

8. What does Violet announce the day before Elizabeth's sixteenth birthday?

9. How does Sean Sr. react when Sean Jr. enlists? What change occurs within the family ranks?

10. What does Elizabeth write to Aisling about in Chapter 9?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Divorce was a taboo subject during the 1940s. Discuss how Violet's divorce affected Elizabeth and the rest of the White family. Divorce is also not allowed in the Catholic Church, but Aisling finds that she is unable to stay by Tony's side. How does this affect her relationships with her family?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the theme of religion in the novel "Light a Penny Candle". How does Elizabeth's move to Ireland introduce her to a new faith? How does her new faith influence her? What is the connection between the novel's motif of guilt and its theme of religion? Are Elizabeth and Aisling religious people?

Essay Topic 3

The novel opens during WWII. How are the characters of the novel affected by the war? Does Binchy use the war as a plot device in the novel? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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