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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What summer job does the narrator of The Locked Room have in June of 1970?
(a) A teacher in Brooklyn.
(b) A delivery man in the Bronx.
(c) A census-taker in Harlem.
(d) A journalist in Manhattan.

2. What varsity sport did Fanshawe play for a brief period in his sophomore year before suddenly quitting the team?
(a) Baseball.
(b) Basketball.
(c) Tennis.
(d) Lacrosse.

3. What happens when Blue finally decides to contact the future Mrs. Blue?
(a) No one answers his telephone call.
(b) They agree to meet in the park but she doesn't come.
(c) He writes her a letter and does not receive a reply.
(d) He sends her a telegram but she never receives it.

4. What team does Jackie Robinson play for in 1947?
(a) The Dodgers.
(b) The Yankees.
(c) The Jets.
(d) The Mets.

5. What does the narrator decide from the beginning that he will omit from his book?
(a) Fanshawe's parents.
(b) Fanshawe's marriage.
(c) Fanshawe's childhood.
(d) Fanshawe's letter to the narrator.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to Jane Fanshawe, who is responsible for the fact that Fanshawe never published any of his work?

2. To which philosopher is attributed this quote that the narrator tacks onto the wall: "And when he dreams he does not want to write, he does not have the power to dream he wants to write; and when he dreams he wants to write, he does not have the power to dream he does not want to write."

3. What is the amount of the monetary advance White gives Blue?

4. What does Fanshawe's mother offer the narrator to help him with his project?

5. In what condition does Blue leave Black in the apartment?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Jane Fanshawe's critique of her son? How does she describe the relationship between Fanshawe and his parents?

2. What event does Blue leave out of his report that elicits a response from White? What is White's response and what conclusion does Blue draw from this?

3. When Black speaks to Blue about Walt Whitman, what two internal organs does he compare? What do these viscera have to do with the profession of writing?

4. In The Locked Room, what is Sophie Fanshawe's condition when her husband goes missing? Describe the trajectory of her emotional reaction to his disappearance.

5. About what aspect of Fanshawe's writing do Sophie and Fanshawe disagree? What is the compromise that Fanshawe offers her a few months before his disappearance?

6. Why does the narrator struggle with showing Fanshawe's letter to Sophie? What does he do instead?

7. What does Fanshawe do during his trip to the cemetery with the narrator on the day of his father's death? What does his action remind the narrator of from their early childhood?

8. Who told Blue stories about the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge? What was this person's profession and what became of him?

9. According to the narrator's recollection, why does Fanshawe give his birthday gift to Dennis Walden? What is the outcome and why is this incident significant for the narrator?

10. What is the person who comes to collect Blue's report at the Brooklyn Post Office wearing? What does Blue do when he sees this person?

(see the answer keys)

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