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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 Jo determine about Eli's attachment to his dog?

2. How many daughters does Jo have?

3. What request of the housemates' do Dana's sisters deny?

4. Who is Jo's youngest daughter?

5. Which of the housemates did Licia find murdered?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain Jo's secretive life in Cambridge in 1968.

2. How do Jo and Daniel reconnect and then marry?

3. Which characters comprise Jo's family?

4. What happens to the dynamics in the group house after Dana's death?

5. What was the nature of the relationship between Licia and Dana?

6. What choice does Eli make for his dog and for himself in Jo's office?

7. What are Jo's feelings about seeing Eli again?

8. What are the circumstances in which Jo meets Daniel?

9. Who is Dana, and how does Licia (Jo) meet her?

10. What are the circumstances in which Jo sees Eli again after so many years?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Project into the future ten years after the end of the novel and write a brief synopsis for the lives of Jo and three other characters. Be sure to incorporate personal, political, and cultural impacts on the characters' lives.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Miller's writing style. How is she different from other writers of her time? What are some of her characteristic writing techniques? Identify some examples of her classic style in WHILE I WAS GONE.

Essay Topic 3

Create a character study of Jo. What are her physical characteristics? What are her motivations? What are her fears? What are her dreams? What else can you say about Jo?

(see the answer keys)

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