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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 Clara?

2. What role does Ruth take in Schoonmaker's household?

3. After her mother's death, why is Clara forced to leave the house?

4. Why does Clara become so upset when van den Meer tells Margarethe that the hutsepot she makes for Lent is the best he's ever had?

5. What piece of information does Clara have about the windmill that makes Iris believe her story?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the reader learn about Ruth's character and personality by the end of Chapter 1?

2. Why does Clara pout about attending the event where her painting is unveiled?

3. What do tulips symbolize in the beginning of the novel?

4. What revelation does Iris have about her new step-father during his marriage ceremony?

5. What does van den Meer's lost wealth mean for Margarethe's plan?

6. What is Iris's relationship with her mother like in the beginning of the novel?

7. What new traits does Iris develop after Henrika's death?

8. How do the Fishers end up at the van den Meers' house?

9. Where does Henrika's wealth come from?

10. What leads to a shift of power in the marriage of van den Meer and his wife?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Several characters in the novel are initially presented as characters without much of a voice who ultimately, by the conclusion of the story, find their voice and are better able to speak in a way that is true to themselves. Choose one character for whom this is true and explain 1) why their voice was silenced or limited in the beginning of the text, 2) who limited their voice, 3) what happened to change their ability to truly "speak," and 4) what that character's newly found voice represents and says about that person's true inner character.

Essay Topic 2

The Fisher family comprises three very different women. Choose Margarethe, Ruth, or Iris and examine what role they play in the family, whether they are happy in the beginning and end of the text, and how their choices affect the rest of the women in the family unit. Make sure to use quotations from the text to support your position.

Essay Topic 3

Choose three passages from Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister that you consider to be the three most important. Analyze each passage for tone, diction, and any other literary devices that Maguire might use within them, such as foreshadowing or symbolism. What makes each scene one of the most important? How does Maguire convey the high level of importance of each passage? Which literary devices does Maguire use to structure and create each passage, and how would each scene be different without the use of one of those devices?

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