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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why does Natalie thank Reta on Christine's birthday in October?
(a) For taking them to dinner.
(b) For being a great mom.
(c) For throwing a party for Christine.
(d) For not naming her Ophelia.

2. What word does Norah have written on the cardboard sign on her chest?
(a) Love.
(b) Happiness.
(c) Peace.
(d) Goodness.

3. Where is the apartment Norah shares with her boyfriend located in the building in Toronto?
(a) The first floor.
(b) The fourth floor.
(c) The basement.
(d) The top floor.

4. What is the name of Reta's friend, a medical journalist who lives in Newfoundland?
(a) Esther Alford.
(b) Emily Alister.
(c) Emma Allen.
(d) Edith Ackman.

5. According to Reta, what is there a sense of that runs throughout her main characters' story?
(a) Prudishness.
(b) Intimacy.
(c) Excitement.
(d) Danger.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to Ben, Norah had become uncharacteristically __________ and __________ in the few weeks prior to her disappearance.

2. What does Reta bring Norah on the way to her appointment to have her eyebrows tinted?

3. Why does Reta write a check to the hostel each month?

4. How does Reta describe her sexual relationship with Tom?

5. According to Reta, what does she find "monstrous" in the face of Norah's absence?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe life in the Winters' household.

2. Why does Reta wake up with anxiety about cleaning her house?

3. What does Reta's husband Tom do for a living and how is it significant concerning Norah's absence?

4. Describe Reta's feelings about the formation of her inner dialogue, the "longest conversation" that goes on in a lifetime in a person's mind.

5. Why do Reta and her writer friends at the Orange Blossom Room conclude that the concepts of goodness and greatness are incompatible for women?

6. Why does Reta feel that normalcy is "monstrous?"

7. What does Reta do each month that indicates her attempt to live up to an idea of "goodness?"

8. Why does Norah make the sarcastic observation in her letter to Alexander Valkner that he must have suffered from extreme fatigue when he thought of his list of "literary big cats"?

9. How do Natalie and Christine attempt to give the impression that Norah's absence is part of a normal routine?

10. Describe the response of the Winters' family to seeing the hostel where Norah stays and its significance.

(see the answer keys)

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