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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. Charlie learns that Earl has made what claims against the prison system?

2. Who is Harvey Tillman?

3. In Chapter 18, why does the narrator say he failed to contact the police the day after Missy's death?

4. In Chapter 23, how long after Missy's death does the narrator say he began watching Miles and Jonah at home?

5. In Chapter 20, who confronts Miles the moment he returns to the sheriff's office?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 26, what does Charlie do when Miles reports for work first thing in the morning?

2. In Chapter 28, why does the unnamed narrator say he finally felt as though he could stop watching the Ryan home? Why is this?

3. How does Miles react to Jonah's questions about his mother when he finds Miles watching home videos?

4. How does Charlie react when he learns that Miles arrested Otis Timson?

5. Why does Sims Addison claim in Chapter 17 that he never wants to return to jail?

6. In Chapter 20, where does Charlie decide to go in order to try to help Miles out of the mess he has created for himself?

7. What story does Sims tell Miles that makes Miles rush out of the sheriff's office without first speaking to Charlie?

8. Despite a reluctance to return to jail, what is Sims Addison doing in Chapter 17 when Miles pulls him over?

9. Why does Miles not arrest Brian when he sees him at Missy's grave?

10. In Chapter 22, after visiting Earl Getlin, what conclusion does Charlie come to about Sims' statements?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Who is Miles Ryan? Why is he having trouble sleeping at the beginning of the novel? What is Miles thinking about? What has his life been like since the death of his wife? Why has the death of his wife touched his life so profoundly? Why does Miles worry about his son, Jonah? Why does Miles think he is not the type of man to be alone? What does this say about Miles' feelings for his wife, Missy? How do the opening chapters suggest that Miles has changed as a person since his wife's death? Are these changes good? Bad? How have they impacted Miles' life overall?

Essay Topic 2

Why does Charlie take Miles' guns and his case file in Missy's death? What is Charlie afraid Miles will do? Does the reader think Miles is capable of such an act? Why does Miles later find a gun that he had hidden away? What does Miles plan to do with this gun? Would killing the person responsible really make things easier for Miles in regards to Missy's death? Would Missy have wanted him to do such a thing? What would happen to Jonah? Would Charlie be able to arrest Miles for such an act?

Essay Topic 3

Who is Missy Ryan? How did she die? What does the unnamed narrator say about Missy? Why does the unnamed narrator make it clear that this book is not about Missy? What was Miles and Missy's relationship like? How might their lives had played out if Missy had not been killed? What impact did Missy's death have on her son? What impact did it have on her husband? How did Missy's death impact the small town of New Bern? How do these changes play a role in this novel?

(see the answer keys)

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