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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 does Barbara say they do with Ardley when she gets back to Maidstone?

2. What does Olivia say her father did when he saw her standing in the hotel room doorway in just a small t-shirt?

3. What phrase does Martin use to explain the facts of life to his son?

4. What does Martin do for a living?

5. What does Barbara choose between every day?

Short Essay Questions

1. What problems is Lynley having in this section?

2. What new information does Lynley find out about Olivia in this section?

3. How does Jean react to seeing Ken's dead body?

4. How do the girls at the cafe decide who fetches a repair man?

5. What does Jean say to Derrick on the phone?

6. Why did Olivia become a prostitute?

7. How does Miriam react to Olivia's pregnancy?

8. What is Haver's opinion of Detective Ardley?

9. What details do the police have about Kenneth's private life?

10. Why does Olivia say that on the outside her mother had an admirable social conscience?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why is Olivia's past so important to the story? In what way does it soften how the reader feels about the murderer?

Essay Topic 2

What does the novel say about sexuality? In terms of the this theme what does Olivia's prostitution of her herself and the way she teases her father say about sexual repression? In what way is sexual repression often connected with British society?

Essay Topic 3

Pick a character from the book and discuss his or her goals and motives. Do they achieve their motive? Do they share similar goals and motives with other characters? Do their goals clash with other characters? How do the characters goals and motives affect their interaction with each other?

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This section contains 868 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample