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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 does Reta find "ugly, vast, and arresting" as she and Tom walk in the cemetery?

2. What is the short story writer's name who Reta writes a letter to?

3. What does Francis Quinn tell Reta and Tom about the gloves Norah has been wearing?

4. Why do Christine and Natalie think something terrible must have happened to Norah?

5. What does Reta remember about Tom's childhood as they walk in the cemetery?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Lois's conversation with Arthur when she comes over to investigate about dinner significant?

2. How does the staff's response at the hostel regarding Norah's gloves indicate her invisibility as a street person?

3. Describe Reta and Lois's relationship.

4. What does Reta and Tom's walk in Orangetown cemetery represent?

5. Why does Arthur Springer call one day after Christmas and what is Reta's response?

6. Why does Reta sign her letter to Dennis Ford-Halpern, "Yours, Rita Orange d'Ville"?

7. What does Reta notice on Norah's wrists that cause Tom to forget his trilobites and research stress and trauma?

8. According to Reta, what is the "worry word" of life and why is it significant?

9. How do the meetings with her friends at the Orange Blossom Room ground Reta in reality?

10. According to Reta, why is goodness not a guaranteed virtue?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the role that faith plays in the novel. What are the differences between personal and religious faith? Discuss Reta's views on faith.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the role of minor characters in the novel.

1. Identify three minor characters and their relationship to the major characters.

2. Describe these three minor characters' physical and psychological attributes. Are they flat or round?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Shields' portrayal of the media in the novel, responding to the following questions:

1. What role does the media have in advancing the plot?

2. What is Reta's relationship to the media?

3. Is it an amicable or hostile relationship and why?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 779 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample