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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 trip abroad was William haunted by?

2. What did Lucy's mother used to threaten to do when she was a child?

3. Who did Robbie's last wife leave him for?

4. What question did her daughters ask Lucy about William once they were adults?

5. What European country did Lucy and William visit during their marriage?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who was crowned Miss Potato Blossom Queen in 1961?

2. What storybook characters did Lucy used to imagine herself and William as?

3. What is Lois's one regret in life?

4. How does Lucy feel when she and William arrive in Bangor, Maine?

5. Where did Lucy go every day when one of her children was suffering from an eating disorder?

6. Who spent a lot of time with Catherine while she was dying?

7. Who raised Lois Bubar?

8. Why does Lucy feel scared driving on the Maine turnpike?

9. Why did Lucy visit the dean at Chrissy's college?

10. Who is Ralph?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay exploring Lucy's belief that a person can only be fundamentally comfortable within themselves if they have been properly loved by their parents. Why does she believe this? What characters from the book lead her to believe this? Use examples from the text as support.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay exploring Lucy's idea that people crave "authority." In particular, that one reason she felt so safe with William during their marriage was because he was a self-assured and authoritative person. In what moments throughout the novel is it clear that this idea about authority and the safety it provides is true for Lucy? Use examples from the text as support.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay exploring Lucy's relationship to her daughters. What is the nature of these relationships, and how do they compare to her relationship with her own mother, or to William's relationship with his mother? Use examples from the text as support.

(see the answer keys)

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