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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. How does the narrator say Darren sees life?

2. Who has just left Adam, when his chapter opens?

3. How does Jonathan see his dissertation research putting him in Ziegler’s position?

4. What is Darren drinking in the opening chapter?

5. Where was Adam’s photo with Bob Dole displayed?

Short Essay Questions

1. What emotions does Jane associate with having neglected to order airline tickets for a family trip?

2. What was the super power Darren believed he had?

3. How does the narrator characterize Adam’s role in the debate team?

4. What importance did Jonathan’s therapist attach to his interest in the Ziegler story?

5. What significance does Darren attribute to the paper banner cheerleaders hold up for the football team to run through?

6. What did Jonathan find captivating about the Duccio Madonna and Child painting in the Met?

7. How does Jane say Sima was different from the other therapists at the Foundation?

8. How does Jonathan describe his relationship with Ziegler?

9. What is the story Amber told Adam in the car after they reconnected?

10. Where is Darren’s refuge, and what solace does he take there?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Evaluate your own reading of The Topeka School—did you resist it, or were you compelled by the story? What does your reading tell you about yourself and your interests? Use specific examples from the book to describe yourself as a reader.

Essay Topic 2

Where is the climax of this book? Are there different climaxes? What questions does each climax resolve? What questions does each climax leave unanswered?

Essay Topic 3

What is the weakest part of this novel? Of the different weak sections, which gives you the most insight in to the author’s theory of what a novel is, and what it ought to do? How would you have suggested strengthening these weak passages?

(see the answer keys)

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