1. In the story's opening, what details are related to the characters' social circumstances?
(a) Light and darkness.
(b) Grass, leaves, and snow.
(c) Gin's bed and their parents' cars.
(d) The condition of the Rambler and the rosary.

2. On the fall night when the narrator realizes that his relationship with Gin is over, what are they arguing about?
(a) The drowned woman.
(b) A series of Elvis movies they saw at a drive-in.
(c) A female poet who has committed suicide.
(d) Whether they will ever have sex.

3. In the light from the squad cars and flashlights, what does the narrator see on the beach as the other couples are running away?
(a) Garbage.
(b) A dead body.
(c) Dead fish.
(d) The condom.

4. In the simile that the narrator uses when he describes holding Gin's breasts in his hands on page 234, to what does he compare her breasts?
(a) Fruit.
(b) Cups.
(c) Water.
(d) A garden.

5. On page 234, which of the following terms does the narrator use to describe the sunset?
(a) "Panorama pink."
(b) "Rose rapture."
(c) "Restless rose."
(d) "Pink peace."

Short Answer Questions

1. What technique is used in the sentence "On my fingers your slick scent mixed with the coconut musk of the suntan lotion we’d repeatedly smeared over each other's bodies" (234) ?

2. What is the rhetorical purpose of the anaphora in the narrator's description of the Gold Coast residents having sex?

3. In the story's opening, what details are related to the characters' youth?

4. What does the narrator speculate that the lightening across the water might be doing?

5. What kind of buildings are on the lovers' lane?

(see the answer key)

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