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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. Where did Ernest Fuller serve in the military?

2. To what did Nugent's poem refer?

3. What concept did the Second Vatican Council eliminate?

4. To what medical procedure did Lynch refer when speaking about people's aversion to funerals?

5. In what era did Gladstone live?

Short Essay Questions

1. Did Lynch profess to a certain fascination with dead bodies?

2. How did the modern amenities (toilet, television, etc.) change life in the old Irish cottage?

3. What was Nora's reaction to her impending death?

4. How did Lynch describe the difference between chance and coincidence?

5. Why did the Lynch brothers take care of their father's body rather than allow a local undertaker to do the job?

6. In what fundamental ways did the flush toilet change human civilization?

7. What did Lynch mean when he stated that "one hand washes the other" in Chapter 1?

8. Of all the choices offered by Lynch to explain Stephanie's death, which one seemed to be the one he would choose?

9. What did Lynch consider the mark of a good faith leader?

10. What did Lynch lament about the modern homes Americans live in?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the artichoke poem described in Chapter 5. How did the poet use sexual imagery in describing the vegetable? Why did he choose to describe an artichoke instead of a woman? Why did so many people respond to the poem in the way the author clearly intended? Is there some unspoken connection between food and sex?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the significance of Stephanie's tragic death. Recall that the name on the stone that killed her was the same as the one on the stone next to which she was buried. Was that significant? Was it merely chance or did it provide some insight into the role of faith and coincidence? Discuss the individual choices mentioned by Lynch (the hand of God, the devil did it, etc.). Are any of them satisfactory? Could all of them be right?

Essay Topic 3

Lynch suggested that a priest interested in a simple funeral might have more of an effect on his parishioners if he lived a life of simplicity rather than wait until he was dead (and beyond caring). Why did Lynch say that a being a dead saint was not worthwhile? Would a simple funeral satisfy the needs of the living and would it convince people of the saintliness of the dead person? Or is it better to live a life of simplicity and then allow the living to do whatever they feel the need to do once you've died? Why did the priest seem shocked by Lynch's advice?

(see the answer keys)

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