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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. How did Marley react to thunderstorms?

2. What did the Grogans decide should be done to avoid having another miscarriage?

3. Why was John and Jenny's house in West Palm Beach the perfect place to have a dog?

4. How did John discover that hospital pain relief is a "luxury"?

5. John nicknamed Marley "Clearance Dog" when they were looking at Lori's litter. Why?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did John decide to surprise Jenny with a three-week stay in Ireland?

2. Marley's terror of thunderstorms leads the Grogans to look for a good vet. What was the result of this?

3. The Grogans are excited about their first pregnancy but their happiness is short lived. Why?

4. The day after John began his own program to train Marley, what did he come home to find?

5. What is the next life step that the Grogans take in Chapter 13? What was the outcome?

6. What was Jenny's second pregnancy like in the early stages?

7. The day after the news of the first pregnancy's loss, what did John buy for Jenny and what was the result of this?

8. John encouraged Jenny to keep her commitment to visit with her sister even though Marley was joining their household at the same time. What was his motive behind this?

9. What were a couple of issues the Grogans had to handle with Marley when he was a puppy?

10. How did the Grogans come to name Marley?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In reference to the plotting of Marley & Me:

(1) Why are the events of the memoir arranged as they are?

(2) What moves the narrative along? Is it external action or internal conflicts? Or a combination of both? Support your answer with examples.

Essay Topic 2

Why did John Grogan include the e-mail and telephone tributes to Marley at the end of the book? Do you believe these added to the theme? As a reader, how did you respond to the tributes?

Essay Topic 3

Conflict is a common element of writing, in both fiction and nonfiction. Why is conflict so often used in narratives? How can it help move a story along? Give four examples where conflict in Marley & Me occurs and how it helps explain the relationship between Marley and John Grogan.

(see the answer keys)

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