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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. When do the Levy daughters say they will come home again?

2. Why does Jones think the old woman thinks he wants to rape her?

3. What collapses when the Reillys crash into a building?

4. What kind of car do the Reillys have?

5. What is Mryna's surname?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the staff at Levy Pants.

2. What is Ignatius' opinion on the sweatshop factory?

3. How does Jones claim the police treat blacks in New Orleans?

4. What is the central idea to Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy?

5. Describe the outside of Ignatius' and Irene's house?

6. How does Ignatius conduct the workers strike?

7. Describe Ignatius' first week at Levy Pants.

8. What does Ignatius write in The Journal of a Working Boy?

9. In what way does the porter job advertised in the bar suit both Jones and Lana?

10. What does Ignatius think about his new colleagues?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the importance of New York as Ignatius' promised land. In what way was New York different to New Orleans in the 1960's? What can Ignatius find in New York that he could not get at home?

Essay Topic 2

A Confederacy of Dunces is written in the third person. Why do you think Toole chose to write the story in the third person? How do you think the meaning of the story would of changed if it was written in the first person?

Essay Topic 3

Look at Toole's only other book, Tthe Neon Bible. What is it about? What themes does it share with A Confederacy of Dunces? Does it have a similar writing style? Does it have a similar structure?

(see the answer keys)

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