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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. Who stumbles into Alexander's camp in Part IV, Chapter 54?

2. Which servant leaves Marguerite on the road after the incident with the Union soldiers?

3. What do the Union soldiers take from Marguerite and her servants as they are preparing to leave the city?

4. What is the Confederate President's answer to Duncan's question at the event?

5. What does the young Danzinger boy ask Alexander to do for him after it becomes evident the renegades are going to kill him?

Short Essay Questions

1. While traveling on their way home from a prayer meeting, what does young Seth Danzinger talk about with Alexander?

2. How does Jesse describe Abraham Lincoln after he sees him coming down the road in Part IV, Chapter 52?

3. What does Duncan tell Sallie about Midge when she comes to visit him in the hospital?

4. What does Jesse learn that the surgeon name Potts has done that upsets him?

5. What does Duncan tell Sallie happened when the Union and Confederate troops were camped very closely to each other in Part III, Chapter 39?

6. How does Marguerite take control of the situation when Mingo leaves Kizzy pregnant and distraught on the road out of Wilmington?

7. Where does Jesse take Duncan after getting him out of the Confederate prison?

8. What does Silas tell his crew before he leaves to Richmond in Part IV, Chapter 57?

9. What does the girl that is interviewing Marguerite tell her she is getting continual pressure to do in Part III, Chapter 39?

10. After being captured, why are the black soldiers pleading with the Confederates to be released?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Alexander and Sallie are hastily married and they both have conflicting feelings about it. They are both important characters to the story. Examine Alexander and Sallie's relationship throughout the story. How did Alexander and Sallie meet? Is Sallie nervous about taking Alexander home to meet her family? Why? How does Alexander feel about being married compared to how Sallie feels? Why do Alexander and Sallie grow apart? Do they ever get a divorce?

Essay Topic 2

Many of the characters in "Jacob's Ladder" have an air of desperation about them and perform desperate acts. Examine the concept of desperation and discuss how it pertains to the characters in the novel. How could someone become desperate during times of war? What characters in the novel seem desperate at this point in the story? Who does not seem desperate? How can this desperation be brought on by some characters having to do uncharacteristic things?

Essay Topic 3

Many of the characters in "Jacob's Ladder" have been going through tremendous changes in their lives since the war has begun. Explore the theme of coming of age, and analyze the changes in the different characters.

Part A) What does coming of age mean?

Part B) How can a catastrophic event like the Civil War cause tremendous changes in people?

Part C) How have some of the characters ideals and goals changed? What have the characters learned about themselves and life?

(see the answer keys)

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