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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. Grady's mother is revealed in Chapter 11 to have died by what method?

2. What type of event is at the center of Chapter 6?

3. In Chapter 15, it is revealed that Grady's house lies what distance away from the campus where he teaches?

4. What name do the locals call Carl Franklin's Hi-Hat?

5. When Grady sees James lurking around outside in Chapter 6, James is holding what object in his hand?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Grady see as the main difficulty he is having with completing his fourth novel Wonder Boys?

2. Though Grady cannot remember the night of his father's suicide, he remembers what other event vividly from around that time?

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

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

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

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

7. In what way does the motif of dreams emerge within Chapter 14 and for what purpose?

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

9. What type of narrator is featured in Michael Chabon's novel Wonder Boys?

10. What is the significance of the phrase, "He's writing his name in water" (93)?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Read a lengthy interview with Chabon. Write an essay explaining the connection between several of Chabon’s answers and a major theme presented within the text of Wonder Boys.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss how the themes of truth and lies are interwoven within the novel’s narrative.

Essay Topic 3

What is Chabon's message regarding commitment within relationships in the novel Wonder Boys?

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