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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. Tex believes that once a man ______________________________, he becomes uninteresting to other homosexuals.

2. Who is Morris?

3. Who is the psychiatrist treating the narrator?

4. What does Annie do while visiting the narrator's parents' home?

5. "The Beautiful Room is Empty" takes place during the 1950s and 1960s in which country?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did the narrator decide to study Chinese?

2. What role does Dr. O'Reilly serve in the narrator's life?

3. Why does the narrator long to be heterosexual, especially when he sees the irresponsible behavior of his heterosexual fraternity brothers?

4. Describe the narrator's first year experiences at college.

5. What does Maria reveal to the narrator when he visits during Christmas vacation in Chapter 4?

6. How does the narrator's subway ride further alienate him from what he thinks is normal life?

7. What is the nature of the narrator's relationship with Annie and what does she do to embarrass herself while visiting his parents?

8. What are some of the themes addressed in "The Beautiful Room is Empty"?

9. What is the premise of "The Beautiful Room is Empty"?

10. What does the narrator learn about Hunton from an older man with the same name?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the major settings for the novel. Why does White use the settings he does? What is the time period of the story? How important is the time period to the attitudes and issues of the characters?

Essay Topic 2

The theme of struggling with personal identity is an important one in this novel. Describe how it extends through setting, character and issues and provide examples for each.

Essay Topic 3

Explain the concept of loneliness as it exhibits in the story. Which of the characters are lonely? Are they all lonely in some way? Explain the loneliness and the methods and attempts to overcome it.

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