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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 causes the fight between Poe and his cell-mate in Book Four?

2. Harris's friends discuss town gossip in Book Four, including criticism that Harris let Poe off too easily several years ago when he'd done what?

3. Where does Harris go to meet the justice of the peace in Book Three?

4. What is the bar that Grace goes to in Book Four to forget her troubles?

5. From where has Poe's cell-mate in prison just returned in Book Four?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the resulting outcome of Poe's fight in the cafeteria in Book Three?

2. What information does Glen Patacki relate to Harris in Book Three?

3. What leads up to the cafeteria fight between Poe and another inmate in Book Three?

4. How has Poe's character evolved in Book Three? How does the author illustrate the changes in Poe's character?

5. How has Issac's character evolved in Book Three? How are the changes in Isaac's character revealed?

6. How has Isaac English's character evolved in Book Four? How does the author illustrate the changes in Isaac?

7. How is the theme of sacrifice explored in Book Four of American Rust?

8. What does Poe decide to do at the end of Book Three? Why?

9. What do Isaac and Baron do upon arriving in the outskirts of Detroit in Book Three?

10. What leads up to the conflict between Poe and his cell-mate in Book Four? What is the outcome of the conflict?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the opinions of Buell's townspeople following Poe's arrest. What gossip has emerged within the town? What gossip emerges regarding Harris's involvement in the case? What are the repercussions of this gossip?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the relationship between Isaac and Poe in American Rust. How do these characters know one another? How would you define their relationship? How does this relationship evolve in the course of the story? How are Isaac and Poe alike? How are they different?

Essay Topic 3

Describe and discuss the major conflicts in American Rust. What is the central conflict of the novel? What are the internal conflicts faced by the main characters? What conflicts arise between the protagonists?

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