View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Sughrue evaluate his conversation with Gleeson?

2. What does Sughrue think about Betty Sue as the novel opens?

3. What does Catherine want from Sughrue his first morning in Montana?

4. After speaking to Jimmy, what do Saghrue and Trahearne tell Rosie?

5. As Saghure tries to leave Peggy's side, what is Trahearne trying to do?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Trahearne's interpretation of Catherine align with what the audience knows about her?

2. Are Sughrue's descriptions of Albert Griffith accurate? Why or why not?

3. How does Betty Sue have the power to make Sughrue fall under her spell when they have never met?

4. What tone is set when Sughrue says people in his business need "a moral certitude that I no longer even claimed to possess"?

5. What do Sughrue and Trahearne's interactions with the nurse teach the readers about these two men?

6. Sughrue is uncomfortable about Catherine and Trahearne's mother living together. Why?

7. How do Selma Hinds' actions characterize her?

8. How does Peggy Blain's explanation of Betty Sue contribute to the development of Betty Sue's allure?

9. What does Sughrue's interactions with Jackson show about his investigative skills?

10. What does Melinda's present life say about her now?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How is Selma Hinds a catalyst in the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Edna owns the town's hotel. The story behind her acquisition is important to the story's development, especially Betty Sue's life. How is the hotel symbolic and what is the connection to Betty Sue/Melinda?

Essay Topic 3

Why does Sughrue continue his search for Betty Sue? Give support to how Sughrue's passion drives him in his job.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 841 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample