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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 is the name of the first picture Carter made with Maria that never got distributed?

2. According to BZ, what does Larry Kulik have to do to be able to sleep with the young girl at Anita Garson's?

3. What is the plot of the second picture Carter made with Maria?

4. How does BZ respond when Maria asks him if he ever gets tired of doing favors for people?

5. What accessory does Helene bring to the hospital for Maria that belongs to her?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Paulette and what is Maria's relationship to her?

2. What is the location of Maria's abortion and what does it represent?

3. What kind of man was Maria's father and what impact did it have on Maria?

4. Why does Carter tell Maria tell Kate that it is not good for her to visit Kate unannounced and what does it reveal about Kate's treatment?

5. In the period before Maria has her abortion, what does she think about her mother's death and why is it significant?

6. What does Maria do when she arrives in Baker, the location where Carter is shooting, and what does it represent?

7. When Freddy offers Maria an opportunity for Morty Landau to see film of her, what does her response indicate about her priorities?

8. What time does Maria want to be on the freeway and why is it significant?

9. Who is Benny Austin and what does he represent in the novel?

10. What is the coral snake Maria thinks about as the novel opens a metaphor of?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the setting of the novel.

1. What role does the setting have in relation to the plot?

2. What is the relationship between the landscape and character development?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the role of friendship in the novel.

1. What is the nature of Maria and Helene's friendship?

2. What is the nature of Maria and BZ's relationship?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the Point of View in the novel.

1. Discuss the rotating points of views in the novel:

a. Maria's third person and first person point of views.

b. Helene's point of view.

c. Carter's point of view.

(see the answer keys)

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