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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. Why does Rutledge often go to church while investigating a murder?

2. Who is the one character Rutledge most wants to interrogate in the murder investigation?

3. How does Mavers react to the conversation he has in the church yard after services in Chapter 15?

4. What does Mark Wilton spend the end of Chapter 17 doing?

5. What does Rutledge vow to do at the end of the novel?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Rutledge attend church in Chapter 15? What happens afterward?

2. How does Lizzie Pinter react to her father physically attacking Rutledge in Chapter 18?

3. What does Rutledge discover in Chapter 20 when he goes into Helena Sommers' bedroom the morning of the funeral?

4. What does Rutledge fear will happen should he arrest Captain Wilton for the murder of Colonel Harris?

5. Why does the author switch point of view in a series of vignettes at the end of Chapter 17?

6. Who does Rutledge learn was a nurse during the war? What does this say about this particular character?

7. What does Rutledge say in Chapter 12 that causes Lettice Wood to become angry with him? How does Rutledge respond to this anger?

8. In what condition does Rutledge find the owner of the doll he found in Chapter 12 in the meadow where Harris' body was found?

9. What new information does Rutledge get when he is finally able to interview Hickam in Chapter 15?

10. What comment does Royston make about the murder in Chapter 13?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is shell shock? Who experiences shell shock in this novel? What symptoms of shell shock does each character experience in the novel? What is the modern equivalent of shell shock? How does shell shock influence or take away from the investigation into Harris' murder? How has shell shock have the power to ruin the reputation of a main character of the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the relationships between each of the following characters in detail, citing examples from the novel to support your conclusions:

1) Lettice Wood and Mark Wilton

2) Lettice Wood and Charles Harris

3) Mark Wilton and Charles Harris.

Essay Topic 3

How is Harris murdered? Where does Rutledge believe he has found the murder weapon? Where was Harris' body found? What does Rutledge find in the area where the body was found? How does this point Rutledge to a possible witness? Does this witness help Rutledge pinpoint the murderer? What does this witness prove about the murder in Rutledge's mind?

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