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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. It is revealed in Chapter 7 that which character is interested in particular types of Hollywood deaths?

2. What was the topic of the first college class Crabtree and Grady ever took together?

3. On what part of the body does Doctor Dee attack someone in Chapter 8?

4. When Emily does not emerge from the advertising agency, what happens next?

5. Who owned the McClelland Hotel where Albert Vetch lived?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Doctor Dee end up dead by the end of Chapter 8?

2. Who was the first "real writer" (3) Grady ever knew and what was his eventual fate?

3. In what way does the motif of dreams emerge in Chapter 3 and for what purpose does Chabon utilize the motif?

4. What major news does Sara reveal to Grady in Chapter 5?

5. What does Grady mean when he repeatedly refers to the "midnight disease" (23) in the novel?

6. What is the significance of the date January 14, 1954 featured in Chapter 8?

7. For how long has Grady been working on the novel Wonder Boys by the time the novel opens in Chapter 1?

8. How does Grady feel about Hannah and how does act on these feelings?

9. In what way is James shown to be a bit eccentric and how does Grady interpret this quality?

10. What were the circumstances of Grady's parents' deaths?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Trace the characterization arc of Grady’s character throughout the novel Wonder Boys. Discuss whether he is a round or flat character and whether he is a static or dynamic character.

Essay Topic 2

Determine Chabon’s message regarding the relationship between comedy and tragedy, as depicted in the novel Wonder Boys.

Essay Topic 3

William Faulkner once famously claimed that the most important literature deals with the subject of the human heart in conflict with itself. Explain how the theme of Human versus Self is demonstrated within Chabon’s novel Wonder Boys. Create a decisive, arguable claim and prove it with quotes from the novel.

(see the answer keys)

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