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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 will Ignatius arrive back home?

2. Who would Jones like to find?

3. What is the headline on the newspaper?

4. What does Mancuso read about in the bathroom stall?

5. How much does the hospital want before they will discharge Ignatius?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Dr. Talc's reaction to seeing the newspaper article?

2. What is Ignatius' opinion on psychiatry?

3. What does Dorain say about his life and family in Chapter 12?

4. What characters does Ignatius think have caused his downfall?

5. In what way has Mancuso benefited from the raid at the Night and Day bar?

6. What does Ignatius write in his Social Note journal in chapter nine?

7. What does Ignatius hope his new political party will achieve?

8. Summarize Chapter 9.

9. How do the characters react to Claude's aggression towards Mancuso in Chapter 8?

10. How does Annie react to the newspaper article?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

With the students, discuss the use of dialect in novels. What difference does dialect make? Do the students think there are times that dialect does not work?

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 the structure of the novel.

2) Discuss elements of the narrative structure; Exposition, conflict, complication, climax, resolution and conclusion. Do all the elements make for a logical and linear story? How does the story's structure express the novel's themes?

3) Away from the main character Ignatius examine the way Toole uses the other characters in the story. Does she use him or her for dramatic effect or comic aside? When does she introduce and take them away from the story? What effect does it have on the story?

(see the answer keys)

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