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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. Of whom does Lisa Shilling say "'You are quite the most rotten, sneaky, conniving little person I've ever known'" (p. 73)?

2. According to Mary Nell Fickett, why do teenagers like to drink coffee and smoke cigarettes?

3. Early in their developing friendship, Lisa Shillings makes Betsy Goodman promise that...

4. Lisa Shilling says a specific thing in the movie Raintree Country makes her "'a little nervous'" (p. 70). What is that thing?

5. As Lisa Shilling's mental condition continues to deteriorate, what are some of the things she does that are disconcerting to Betsy Goodman?

Short Essay Questions

1. Mr. Milne makes a few attempts to have Lisa Shilling's condition accepted and treated. He calls upon the school authorities in a formal and, later, an informal manner. He also meets with Rev. Fickett and Mr. Shilling directly. His attempts meet with failure as first Bernstein and the school administration and later Mr. Shilling stonewall him. Should Milne have done anything differently? Should Milne have given up when he did?

2. As the novel points out, Mr. and Mrs. Shilling ultimately are the legally responsible persons for the care of the daughter Lisa. After reading of their stubborn refusal to admit there is a problem, is this the approach that society should continue to utilize for child rearing?

3. Mary Nell Fickett believes that she might fully master the study of abnormal psychology by reading many books. Describe Mary Nell's reasoning and comment upon it.

4. Describe Lisa Shilling's punctuality and dependability.

5. Describe the typical group therapy session involving Lisa Shilling, Betsy Goodman, Mary Nell Fickett, and Elizabeth Frazer.

6. Lisa Shilling occasionally talks in a deep, sultry voice with a notable English accent. Betsy Goodman associates this English-sounding Lisa with the dark Lisa. In popular psychology, what type of mental illness would account for this distinction?

7. Betsy Goodman believes at one point that she might gain valuable insight into Lisa Shilling's condition simply by watching an Elizabeth Taylor movie. Describe Betsy's reasoning and comment upon it.

8. Describe some of Lisa Shilling's self-destructive behaviors.

9. After Lisa Shilling deliberately walks through a glass window she is hospitalized with fairly serious injuries. She remains in the hospital for at least a few days. Mary Nell Fickett assumes that this suicide attempt necessarily will involve social workers who will force Mr. and Mrs. Shilling to confront Lisa's mental illness. However, this does not occur. Why?

10. Cover photographs aside, what narratives clues are there that identify the four protagonists as white?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the role of gender in the novel--do characters act they way they do because they are male or female? Which characters (if any) don't act like they 'should' for their gender?

Essay Topic 2

Elizabeth Frazer was diagnosed with an unspecified but severe mental illness at about age twelve or thirteen. She spent four years committed in an asylum under the care of Dr. Neil Donovan. She then moves to the town of the novel's primary setting and lives there for about a year or perhaps two. Immediately, she is noticed by Lisa Shilling who feels some type of affinity for her because they both somehow share the bond of mental illness. Discuss this strange attraction. Is it credible? How might it arise? Why does Elizabeth not run away from Lisa as representative of a past she herself has struggled with?

Essay Topic 3

Of the four primary mothers in the novel--Mrs. Shilling, Mrs. Goodman, Mrs. Fickett, and Mrs. Frazer--who would you least like to have as a mother? Why?

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