View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which of the following is a spook-like practice that Rowser takes in his daily life?

2. In Chapter 6, Vosdanik explains that to the cult of lonely men, words are the vessels of what?

3. About whom does James dream about in Chapter 6?

4. What attribute of the cult do Owen and James realize in Chapter 7?

5. In Chapter 7, Owen claims to be good at finding what when studying faith?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Tap Axton.

2. How is Owen's connection to the cave people addressed in Chapter 4?

3. Why is Volterra in Jordan in Chapter 6?

4. Describe the awkward lunch at the beginning of Chapter 7.

5. What does James Axton do in Europe?

6. Describe Owen Brademas.

7. Why is James ridiculed by his friends in the beginning of Chapter 1?

8. What story does Owen tell about a cave in Chapter 2?

9. Describe the murder in Kouros.

10. What conversation do Eliades and James have at dinner in Chapter 3?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about the marriage and separation of James and Kathryn Axton. How did their marriage affect each others individual life and goals? What state is the marriage in when the novel begins, and how did it reach this point? Discuss how Kathryn and James' personalities and lifestyles change after the separation. What idiosyncrasies are revealed as a result? What finally breaks the marriage apart for good, and how does the veneer of cordiality disappear as a result?

Essay Topic 2

In the latter half of The Names, James Axton develops several female entanglements that serve as temporary place-fillers for his lost family. Write an essay about these three: Janet Ruffing, Del Nearing, and Ann Maitland. How does Ruffing fulfill his sexual needs as a man? How does Nearing fulfill his paternal needs after the essential loss of Tap? Discuss, lastly, how Ann Maitland provides the most complete relationship for him. What are the defining attributes of this relationship? How does their final moment in the novel resonate as particularly significant?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about the ensemble that is James Axton's expatriate social scene. What collective philosophy do these people share, and for whence does this philosophy derive? In this essay, discuss the dynamic that exists within the group. Who are the most dominant figures in the group dynamic, and who feels like an outsider? Which couples are strong and which are clearly foundering? How is this made apparent?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,031 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample