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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. In the non-italicized section of Chapter 6, what invitation does Bobby get in a letter from John Aldrich the following year?

2. In the non-italicized section of Chapter 5, where do Bobby and John go to have lunch?

3. In the non-italicized section of Chapter 6, where does Bobby go to work after returning from his grandmother's house?

4. In the non-italicized section of Chapter 7, what does the agent at the post office say about Bobby's passport?

5. In the non-italicized section of Chapter 7, what old friend does Bobby say asks after John?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does the girl go to the hospital? Is her visit to the hospital successful?

2. What happens to Bobby's pet while Bobby is away on the jack-up rig? How does it happen?

3. Who does Bobby meet after talking to the guys in suits again?

4. Over the winter, Bobby has a dream of a doctor and a nurse showing him something and asking if Bobby wants to show that something to her. What is the thing that they are discussing and who is the "her"?

5. In Chapter 5, when Bobby meets Sheddan for lunch, at the beginning of their conversation how does Sheddan describe Bobby as an archetypal figure?

6. What does the girl say to the Kid about why she does not write down her mathematical conjectures?

7. As a child what does Bobby find in the woods?

8. One night while Bobby is in Wartburg, Bobby mentions Alice's papers. Who is Alice? What happened to her?

9. In the opening of the non-italicized section of Chapter 6, where is Bobby and what is he doing?

10. What cathartic exclamations does Bobby make at the end of his visit with the person who comes to visit Bobby while Bobby is living alone in a shack by the beach?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the sensation that you have when you read the passages between the Kid and Alicia. How do they compare to the passages that focus on Bobby? What are the differences? Are there similarities or parallels?

Essay Topic 2

What is your experience of this book? Do you love it? Do you hate it? Are you somewhere in between? Is it a difficult book? What are the parts that you find difficult? Are there parts that feel significant but difficult to decipher why they are significant? Do you think that is part of the author's intention? To make a book that most people are going to struggle with? How does that fit in with the themes of the actual story? How would you describe and explain this book and the story to someone who has not read it?

Essay Topic 3

What is the mystery of the downed plane? Does it get solved to any degree of satisfaction? Why does the author add this element to the story? How does an unsolved mystery with a myriad of loose ends reinforce the theme of disorientation? How do a mystery with no end and no visible linear arc connect to the rest of Bobby's life?

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