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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 name did Ann use to refer to Lucy?

2. What was the profession of the man Ann dates in Chapter 11?

3. Lucy refused to lie to Ann and told her that __________________________.

4. Ann and Lucy decided that once Lucy got better, they could call these years the _________________.

5. What element about her new novel did Lucy discuss with Ann?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was Lucy's first suicide attempt, and how did she try to convince Ann that her life was better?

2. Why was Ann the symbol of innocence in the book and Lucy the loss of innocence?

3. To what things did Ann attribute Lucy's depression?

4. Even though she had career success, Lucy felt that romantic love was missing in her life. What did she do to try to remedy that situation?

5. How well did Lucy manage her finances?

6. What was the main question Lucy asked her psychiatrists when she saw them?

7. What was the radical surgery Lucy was considering and later told Ann and Karl about?

8. What were the circumstances of Lucy's death?

9. Why did Lucy begin to contemplate suicide?

10. What did Ann find especially alarming when Lucy read an essay at a Provincetown reading?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Substance abuse seemed to be an unnamed character in the book. How pervasive was the abuse? Why did it have such a prevalent place in Lucy's life? How did it affect her? How does it affect those impacted by Lucy's abuse? Explain how an inanimate object or characteristic can be a character.

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast Ann and Lucy. In what ways were they alike? In what ways were they dramatically different? What drew them together initially? What was the basis of their long-term friendship? Was the friendship an equitable one? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

The theme of the search for love is an important one in the novel. How does the author begin to build this theme? Give examples of the search for love throughout the book.

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