Quiz More Than Enough Anna Quindlen

More Than Enough Quiz: Test Your Understanding of Anna Quindlen's Novel

About This Quiz

This quiz covers the entire span of Anna Quindlen's novel More Than Enough, from the opening DNA test to the final revelations. There are 20 questions: eight on plot and sequence, five on character motivation, four on theme and symbol, and three synthesis questions. Each question is either multiple-choice or short-answer. After the quiz you'll find a complete answer key with brief explanations. Use the internal links to review key sections of the book before you start.

Plot and Sequence (Questions 1–8)

  1. What event sets Polly's search for her origins in motion?
    a) A letter from a law firm
    b) A DNA test she receives as a birthday gift
    c) A conversation with her brother about adoption
    d) A visit from a stranger claiming to be family

  2. Where does Polly first meet Talia Burton?
    Short answer (one or two words / a place name): ___________________

  3. In Chapter 21, what does Mary reveal about her own health history?
    a) She had a heart attack
    b) She has early-stage Alzheimer's
    c) She had breast cancer twenty years earlier
    d) She is in remission from lymphoma

  4. What news does Sarah share with Polly at the June book club meeting?
    a) She is moving away
    b) Her cancer has returned and spread to the brain
    c) She is getting married
    d) She has decided to stop treatment

  5. During the severe thunderstorm in Chapter 19, what happens to Lou and Skipper's house?
    a) The roof is torn off by the wind
    b) A giant pine tree crashes through the living room roof
    c) The foundation cracks from flooding
    d) A fire starts from a lightning strike

  6. Who is Andre Bettman revealed to be by the end of the novel?
    Short answer (relationship to Polly): ___________________

  7. How does Polly learn that Sarah has deeded the cottage to her?
    a) Sarah tells her in a letter
    b) Mark finds the deed in Sarah's desk
    c) Sarah's stepson Stephen Carter tells her after Sarah's death
    d) A lawyer reads Sarah's will at the funeral

  8. What surprising event happens to Polly in the final chapter (Chapter 29)?
    Short answer (one complete sentence): ___________________

Character Motivation (Questions 9–13)

  1. Why does Polly lie to her book club friends about the DNA test results in Chapter 1?
    Short answer (one reason): ___________________

  2. Why does Mary keep her breast cancer diagnosis a secret from Polly for two decades?
    a) She was ashamed of the illness
    b) She wanted to protect Polly from worry and was a very private person
    c) She didn't think Polly would care
    d) The doctor advised her not to tell anyone

  3. Why is Garrison angry with Polly during their sushi dinner in Chapter 22?
    a) She didn't invite him to the alpaca farm
    b) He thinks she is keeping secrets from him about Talia
    c) He resents that their father always favored Polly and that Polly hides things from their mother
    d) He wants her to stop visiting their father

  4. Why does Polly continue to visit her father Jack at Edgemere even though his dementia is severe?
    Short answer (one reason): ___________________

  5. Why does Sarah choose not to tell the entire book club about her cancer recurrence at the June meeting?
    a) She is still in denial about the diagnosis
    b) She wants the gathering to feel normal and joyful, and doesn't want to be seen as a "dead woman walking"
    c) She has already told everyone individually
    d) She is planning to announce it later that evening

Theme and Symbol (Questions 14–17)

  1. What does the DNA test primarily symbolize in the novel?
    a) Scientific progress
    b) Hidden truths and the search for identity
    c) The unreliability of technology
    d) A threat to Polly's marriage

  2. What does the storm that destroys part of Lou's house represent?
    Short answer (one idea): ___________________

  3. How does Edna St. Vincent Millay's line "Beauty is whatever gives joy" function thematically?
    Short answer (one sentence): ___________________

  4. What does the alpaca farm "Earthshine" most strongly symbolize for Polly?
    a) The emptiness of rural life
    b) A place of healing, new beginnings, and chosen community
    c) The burden of family secrets
    d) The impossibility of leaving the city

Synthesis (Questions 18–20)

  1. How does the motif of secrets connect the relationships of Polly, Mary, and Sarah?
    Short answer (2–3 sentences): ___________________

  2. Compare Polly's relationship with her mother Mary and with her friend Sarah. What does each reveal about Polly's need for maternal connection?
    Short answer (2–3 sentences): ___________________

  3. The epigraph from Emily Dickinson speaks of searching for oneself "with lanterns." How do Polly's discoveries about her biological father and her eventual pregnancy embody this idea of gradual illumination?
    Short answer (2–3 sentences): ___________________

Answer Key

Plot and Sequence

  1. b) A DNA test she receives as a birthday gift.
    Explanation: In Chapter 1, Polly carries the DNA test results to book club, and the mystery of the second-degree relative drives the entire plot.

  2. Pie Is Infinite (the pie shop in Mount Bennett, Vermont).
    Explanation: In Chapter 5, Polly meets Talia at the shop named Pie Is Infinite; their interaction there reveals mutual disappointment.

  3. c) She had breast cancer twenty years earlier.
    Explanation: In Chapter 21, after Polly breaks down about Sarah, Mary discloses her own breast cancer, which she hid during Polly's junior year abroad.

  4. b) Her cancer has returned and spread to the brain.
    Explanation: In Chapter 18, Sarah privately tells Polly that the cancer is back with brain tumors and asks her to keep it secret.

  5. b) A giant pine tree crashes through the living room roof.
    Explanation: Chapter 19 describes the tree coming through the roof next to a turret; Lou and Skipper are displaced.

  6. Her biological father.
    Explanation: In Chapter 28, Mary confesses her five-week affair with Andre Bettman, and Polly learns he is her biological father.

  7. c) Sarah's stepson Stephen Carter tells her after Sarah's death.
    Explanation: In Chapter 27, Stephen reveals that Sarah deeded the cottage to Polly months before she died.

  8. She discovers she is pregnant.
    Explanation: In Chapter 29, Polly realizes she is pregnant after believing she was entering menopause; she whispers the news to her father.

Character Motivation

  1. She is not ready to be vulnerable and share the truth about her family origins; she habitually hides difficult feelings.
    Explanation: The outline notes Polly's struggle with vulnerability and the weight of secrets.

  2. b) She wanted to protect Polly from worry and was a very private person.
    Explanation: Mary tells Polly she kept the secret to avoid burdening her, and the novel shows Mary's guarded nature.

  3. c) He resents that their father always favored Polly and that Polly hides things from their mother about Talia and Stephen.
    Explanation: In Chapter 22, Garrison points out that Polly's secrecy mirrors their mother's distance and that Jack focused exclusively on Polly.

  4. She loves him and feels a daughter's obligation; even brief moments of recognition (like being called "Pumpkin Pie") sustain her.
    Explanation: Polly's visits, such as in Chapter 4 and Chapter 14, show her commitment despite the pain.

  5. b) She wants the gathering to feel normal and joyful, and doesn't want to be seen as a "dead woman walking."
    Explanation: The outline states Sarah wants a normal, joyful day and asks Polly to keep the secret from the others.

Theme and Symbol

  1. b) Hidden truths and the search for identity.
    Explanation: The DNA test is a recurring symbol of secrets (Polly's origins, the family mystery) and her quest for self-knowledge.

  2. The sudden, uncontrollable crises that test family bonds, and the transition toward reliance on chosen family for support.
    Explanation: The storm damages the family home, forcing Lou and Skipper to accept help from Sarah (chosen family) and revealing hidden miscarriages.

  3. It encapsulates Josephine's rejection of a joyless path and the novel's message that authentic happiness is an essential component of a meaningful life.
    Explanation: In Chapter 20, Josephine recalls the quote as she decides to pursue joy over parental expectations.

  4. b) A place of healing, new beginnings, and chosen community.
    Explanation: The farm offers Polly a sense of belonging separate from her city life; it is where she learns the truth about Andre and begins to accept an expanded definition of family.

Synthesis

  1. Polly, Mary, and Sarah each keep significant secrets to protect loved ones, but the secrecy causes pain and distance. Polly's life-changing discoveries—Mary's cancer, Sarah's cancer, her own paternity—force her to confront the cost of concealment and to value honesty, even when it exposes vulnerability.
    Explanation: The outline and evidence show Mary hiding her breast cancer and affair, Sarah hiding her recurrence, and Polly hiding the DNA search; the novel traces how each secret strains relationships.

  2. Mary is distant, career-focused, and secretive, leaving Polly feeling inadequate and struggling for maternal approval. Sarah, in contrast, offers unconditional emotional support, intimacy, and understanding—the maternal warmth Polly craves. The contrast reveals that Polly's deepest need is not for a biological mother but for a nurturing, trustworthy female presence, which she finds in Sarah and later in Lou.
    Explanation: Polly's interactions with Mary are marked by coldness and revelation, while Sarah is consistently present and confiding.

  3. The lantern metaphor suggests gradual, piece-by-piece illumination rather than sudden revelation. Polly begins with a single DNA clue, which leads to Talia, then to Stephen, and finally to Andre and her mother's confession. Her pregnancy at the end is another lantern: a surprise that reshapes her identity. She does not fully "find herself" in one moment; instead each step sheds light on a new part of her story, exactly as Dickinson's image implies.
    Explanation: The epigraph frames the memoir as a journey of self-discovery, and the plot's unfolding supports this stepwise enlightenment.