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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 town where Nora and Dan have a pub?

2. Who had been Nora's only friend at String Theory before she moved back to Scotland?

3. How long before the wedding that Nora was supposed to have with Dan, did Nora's mother die?

4. How old is Nora?

5. In "The Successful Life," how old was Nora when she retired from swimming?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is the librarian?

2. What does Nora realize as she sips wine in "Antimatter"?

3. What does Nora learn about her parents in "The Successful Life"?

4. At the end of "The Chessboard," what life does Nora wish to try next?

5. What is the Book of Regrets, and how does it make Nora feel?

6. What does Nora see when she goes inside the building she finds after trying to end her life?

7. In "System Error," when does the glitch go away that Mrs. Elm is working on?

8. Why are there no lives where Voltaire is still alive?

9. In "Fire," what does Nora remember that she had loved about swimming?

10. Who comes to Nora's door in "The Man at the Door, and why does he come to see Nora?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Nora and Joe are not close in Nora’s root life. Why are Nora and Joe not close in her root life? How does her suicide attempt change their relationship? How do they mend their relationship?

Essay Topic 2

In the novel, some characters are more thoroughly described than others. Who are some characters that are merely named in passing or have a minor role in the novel? What is the importance of these flat characters to the story line? In what way do these characters make the main characters more colorful or interesting? When there is conflict, what type of role do these flat characters play?

Essay Topic 3

Nora thinks of herself as a black hole in her root life. Why does Nora consider herself to be a black hole? Why does she decide that she is not a black hole, but a volcano?

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This section contains 957 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample