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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. What item does Marion think will save her from bankruptcy?

2. Which word best describes Hortensia’s apology to Marion?

3. Which nurse does Hortensia actually like?

4. What family currently owns the land the Samsodien family is claiming?

5. Which of her mother’s stories does Marion recollect in Chapter Seven?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Marion treat Agnes?

2. How do Hortensia and Marion first meet?

3. How does Marion’s daughter Marelena feel about Marion’s displacement from home?

4. Why does Hortensia arrange for Marion to be her nurse?

5. How is the committee dealing with the issues of Beulah Gierdien and the Samsodiens in Chapter Eight?

6. Why does Marion prefer her dog to her late husband?

7. What does Hortensia cite as her “last remaining comfort” in the world?

8. What shocking news does the lawyer Mr. Marx reveal to Hortensia?

9. What is Marion’s current financial predicament in Chapter Three?

10. Why does Hortensia walk to the Koppie?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why do you think the author chose to situate the novel in the neighborhood of Katterijn specifically? What details about the neighborhood contribute to the plot and themes of the novel?

Essay Topic 2

How does South Africa’s history of Apartheid impact the plot of The Woman Next Door? In what ways does this history impact the setting? In what ways does it impact the relationships between the characters?

Essay Topic 3

How does the novel explain the development of Marion’s racism? What specific scenes from her childhood cause her to develop in the manner that she does?

(see the answer keys)

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