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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 length of time is said to have passed between middle sister's first encounter with the milkman and her meeting at the bar with longest friend?

2. Which element of speech had inspired suspicion in middle sister's mind long before the appearance of the milkman in her life?

3. In what kind of establishment does middle sister have a contentious altercation with members of her community?

4. How many weeks after real milkman is hurt does middle sister go to the chip shop, where she is then confronted by the community?

5. What element of middle sister's personality does longest friend demand that middle sister eradicate?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe an instance when Burns makes a point about how polarization often leads to exclusion.

2. How does longest friend's reaction to middle sister's confession surprise middle sister?

3. What does Semtex symbolize within the novel?

4. What major revelation about the community's view of middle sister does longest friend reveal during their meeting?

5. What is ironic about the fact that every time the milkman suddenly appears, he does so "in the manner of some ordinary meeting up" (166)?

6. Why do the renouncers-of-the-state come to middle sister's family's door in Chapter 5?

7. What change occurs in middle sister's feelings for maybe-boyfriend after the milkman begins to stalk her?

8. What kind of murders are said to be "unfathomable" (237) within the confines of middle sister's community and why are they described in this way?

9. What is the ultimate fate of longest friend?

10. What three-syllable response does middle sister use in response to any question she is ever asked and why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Would Burns’s novel Milkman be classified as a dystopian novel? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the interplay between the resolution of Milkman and one of the novel's main messages. How does Burns make connections between these elements and how does their juxtaposition help them get across one main message of the novel?

Essay Topic 3

How are the topics of romantic relationships, love, and sex treated within the novel Milkman and how does their treatment relate to the novel's depicted messages?

(see the answer keys)

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