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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 does the company come across in the middle of nowhere?

2. How many Indians does the gang kill in the initial attack?

3. How long has the Mexican war been over?

4. What is the gang crossing when they stop?

5. Why is it important to continue the fight against the Mexicans?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the Kid's early life.

2. Describe the fight between the two Johnsons.

3. How does the Judge sort out the problem between the soldiers and Glanton when paying for the guns?

4. How do the cattlemen help out the Kid?

5. How does the Kid get to Nacogdoches?

6. What do the Kid and Sproule find in the carreta?

7. Describe the Kentuckian soldier.

8. Describe the gang's journey toward Texas.

9. How does the Kid get the whiskey?

10. What do the prisoners see when they are let out of their cells?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Blood Meridian is written in the third person.

1) Why do you think McCarthy chose to write the story in the third person? How do you think the meaning of the story would have changed if it were written in the first person?

2)Choose a character from the novel and discuss how the story would be different if he were the narrator?

Essay Topic 2

McCarthy has lived in Texas and Mexico, adhering to the rule that writers should always write about what they know. Do you think it is obvious that McCarthy knows his subject? What difference do you think it makes to the story? Are there any moments where you think McCarthy does not portray a character or setting so well?

Essay Topic 3

Look at the structure of the novel.

1) How does McCarthy use character and dialogue to drive the narrative.

2) Discuss elements of the narrative structure: Exposition, conflict, complication, climax, resolution and conclusion. Do all the elements make for a logical and linear story? How does the story's structure express the novel's themes?

3) Away from the main character, examine the way McCarthy uses the other characters in the story. When does he introduce and take them away from the story? What effect does it have on the story?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 881 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample