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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 Chapter Fourteen, what is the reason for Lowell's mother's visit?

2. What does the Bible quote on the flyer at the prayer vigil imply is true?

3. On page 294, what does Scarlett tell the other women her parenting philosophy is?

4. To what famous novel does Colette allude in Chapter Thirteen?

5. What is Nell's birth name?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter Thirteen, what confusion does Nell express about her mental state on the night of July 4th?

2. How does Francie injure herself when she is following Token?

3. In Chapter Fourteen, what causes Colette to jump to the conclusion that Midas is dead?

4. What argument do Francie and Lowell get into about a stroller, and what does the argument demonstrate about their relationship?

5. How does Francie feel about her mother-in-law, and why?

6. In Chapter Twenty-One, what plan for her career does Colette share with Charlie?

7. What is Francie sure that the man in the red baseball cap lied to her about, and why is she so certain?

8. When Colette and Nell see Winnie's interview with the police, what causes them to worry about Winnie's mental health?

9. How does Francie's mental state both help and hinder the efforts to find Midas?

10. During her questioning of the person she meets at the bar in Chapter Fourteen, what does Francie learn about Winnie?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What messages about the media does Molloy convey in The Perfect Mother? Is there any irony in the fact that Molloy is making money and building a reputation by writing about kidnapping and murder, just as Faith makes money and builds her reputation by talking about kidnapping and murder on her show, or is there an important distinction between these two kinds of media? How do the high stakes of a murder investigation intensify the outcomes of Faith's journalistic decisions? How does the text's overall depiction of the press coverage of the investigation support the same messages as its depiction of Patricia Faith? How does the text's depiction of press coverage of Nell's relationship with Lachlan Raine also support these messages? Write an essay in which you take and defend a position about the messages that The Perfect Mother sends about the media. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the text; be sure to cite any quoted evidence in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

How does Molloy's clever use of the name "Joshua" in the first-person narration mislead the reader? How does she introduce the name, and what techniques does she use to encourage the reader to associate the name with the narrator's former lover instead of her child? If the reader were aware from the beginning of the text that Joshua is the narrator's deceased infant, how would this change the reader's experience of the book? Write an essay that explores how Molloy uses the figure of Joshua to mislead the reader and prolong the puzzle of the first-person narrator's identity. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the text; be sure to cite any quoted evidence in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

How are the heterosexual relationships in The Perfect Mother similar to and different from the same-sex friendships portrayed in the novel? Consider the variety and complexity of the current partnerships between the women and their children's fathers as well as the women's previous sexual and romantic relationships. Also think about the number of abusive or coercive encounters with men that the main female characters have had, and consider what message these are conveying. Write an essay that compares and contrasts the qualities of the female friendships and the heterosexual romantic/sexual relationships portrayed in the novel. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the text; be sure to cite any quoted evidence in MLA format.

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