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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. According to Ben, Norah had become uncharacteristically __________ and __________ in the few weeks prior to her disappearance.
(a) Calm; peaceful.
(b) Irritable; short-tempered.
(c) Manic; jumpy.
(d) Depressed; lethargic.

2. Why does Reta attend a series of interviews in September?
(a) Reta attends them in order to get a raise at work.
(b) Reta attends them because it is part of her research.
(c) Reta attends them on behalf of her mentor.
(d) Reta attends them because she enjoys being interviewed.

3. What kind of world is Reta interested in creating for her characters?
(a) A nonfictional but unbelievable world.
(b) A fictional but believable world.
(c) A fictional but unbelievable world.
(d) A nonfictional but believable world.

4. What sport have Christine and Natalie given up playing on Saturdays to spend the day with Norah?
(a) Volleyball.
(b) Tennis.
(c) Soccer.
(d) Raquetball.

5. Why does Reta decide not to attend the funeral for the person at Scribano & Lawrence?
(a) Because Reta does not know the person who died very well.
(b) Because Reta cannot handle more grief.
(c) Because Reta thinks the person who died was not good.
(d) Because Reta is going to see Norah instead.

Short Answer Questions

1. What exercise does Reta find repellent?

2. What rationale does Reta offer about Norah's strange behavior in her letter to Valkner?

3. What two languages are spoken during Reta's childhood?

4. What two actual events do Reta's writer friends also discuss at the Orange Blossom Room?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. 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.

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

3. What attempt does Reta make to bribe her daughter Norah to come home when she visits her on her street corner and how successful is she?

4. Why does the memory of shopping for the perfect scarf for Norah haunt Reta as a "big female secret" and what does the scarf represent?

5. How are Reta's feelings about sex related to her writing about Alicia and Roman?

6. What are Reta's feelings about Tom and their sexual relationship?

7. How does the American election results in Florida that Tom, Christine, and Natalie watch relate to Norah's absence?

8. Describe Reta Winter's thoughts and feelings as the novel opens.

9. Why does Arthur love Alicia as a character and why is it significant?

10. Why does Danielle believe that Norah has embraced her powerlessness in society by living as a homeless person?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 938 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample