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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. Where do the boys wait for the Lisbon girls' signal the night of June 15?

2. Where does Old Mrs. Karafilis live?

3. What does Bonnie do outside the house each night?

4. What does Mr. Lisbon use paint cans for in Chapter 4?

5. What does Bonnie carry on her nightly pilgrimages outside?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do the boys spend the early part of the evening on June 15?

2. How does Mr. Lisbon's behavior at school change after Cecilia's suicide?

3. How did Lux's date end?

4. How did the three older girls end their evening at the dance?

5. How do the Lisbon girls save, at least temporarily, their elm tree?

6. How did the Lisbons deal with their friends' and neighbors' offers of sympathy?

7. Describe Mary Lisbon's favorite way to pass time during the imprisonment.

8. What do the boys see when they first look into the Lisbons' home on June 15th?

9. Describe the state of the Lisbons' basement on June 15th.

10. Describe Mr. Lisbon's vision of a ghost.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Communication--and the lack of it--plays a crucial role in the telling of this story. Please discuss ways in which the Lisbon girls communicate with the outside and with one another, as well as how a lack of communication affects the story.

Essay Topic 2

We have talked a lot about setting in the context of this novel. Please discuss in an essay what the setting of The Virgin Suicides is, how it affects the story, how it affects the characters, and how the characters affect the setting.

Essay Topic 3

During the media frenzy following the triple suicide, the boys, "For the first time ever...sympathized with the President because we saw how wildly our sphere of influence was misrepresented by those in no position to know what was going on." Please explain what they meant by this and discuss its justification.

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