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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 is the relationship between Dana Breedlove and Steffie.

2. Where does Babette like to run?

3. What is one theory about how the Treadwells got to the abandoned cookie-shack?

4. Where does Murray live?

5. What, according to Tweedy, is "the last refuge of gracious living"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Heinrich is playing chess with someone through letters. Describe his opponent.

2. Describe what happens when Denise confronts Babette about the Dylar on the way to the mall.

3. Describe the family lunch the Gladneys eat, in terms of who attended, what they ate and what the mood was.

4. Why did Babette want to see "station-wagon" day?

5. What is the mood of the family when they are shopping at the mall?

6. What is so shocking about Jack's trouble with German?

7. Describe the scene that opens the novel, in terms of setting, action and narration.

8. Why is Bob Pardee passing through town?

9. According to Jack, why does Bee make the family feel self-conscious?

10. Why do they bring Wilder to the doctor in Chapter 16?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

These characters are preoccupied, and maybe even obsessed, with their own deaths. Compare and contrast Jack's obsession with his mortality and Babette's obsession with hers. Write an essay that details the ways their fear of death are similar and how they are different. Be sure to describe specific instances in the novel and how the reader comes to understand each.

Essay Topic 2

Write an analytical essay that explains and contextualizes the ways this family communicates with each other. Do they all communicate in the same way? Does anyone in the family communicate differently? Be sure to include specific exploration of DeLillo's dialogue as a fictional technique that demonstrate what these various communications styles mean thematically.

Essay Topic 3

The Nyodene D. spill evokes real danger and expresses real anxiety on the part of DeLillo that Americans could be affected by such an "event". Jack even expresses the opinion that only the poor and exposed could be in danger from such things. Write an analytical essay that discusses disaster as a theme in this novel, citing specific textual examples to explain your ideas. How is this a reflection of the time when this book was written, and would it be different if DeLillo were writing today?

(see the answer keys)

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