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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. Who is Dara married to?

2. What does Dr. Weston want to discuss with Dara in Part II?

3. Why is Charlie upset with Marie in Part II?

4. Which of the following did Dara's mother used to tell them about ballerinas?

5. What starts the fire at the dance studio?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do dancers' feet usually look and feel?

2. How do Charlie, Dara and Marie make the choice to not only repair, but expand, the studio?

3. What does Marie tell Dara about her affair with Derek?

4. What has Marie done recently, before the start of the book, that Charlie and Dara are stung by?

5. Why does Dara wait to tell Charlie about her worries about Marie in Part II?

6. What does Marie do to prepare her own pointe shoes for wear?

7. What does Dara's, Charlie's, and Marie's house look like?

8. How do the other students at the dance school generally treat the girl who is cast as Clara?

9. What does Dara remember about her mother's and father's relationship?

10. What relationship do Dara, Marie and Charlie have for the longest time, until recently, in Part I?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Charlie explain his transgressions and mistakes to Dara just before his suicide, and how does Dara react to these explanations? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

How does Abbott characterize The Nutcracker as a story and as a ballet, and how does this characterization help set the backdrop and tone to the entire novel? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

What are some of the traumas and difficulties Dara, Charlie and Marie survived in the aftermath of living with Mr. and Mrs. Durant? How do each of these characters remember their childhoods together in the Durant house? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

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