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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. How is the church at which Thomas Birkin arrives described?

2. According to Birkin's conversation with Keach, what will help or has helped Birkin decide the age of the wall painting?

3. Who discovered the painting before painting over it?

4. What fills the chancel's arch in the church?

5. What kind of tower does the church include with its stone walls?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Birkin in the graveyard when Alice Keach comes to visit? What is he doing there?

2. Who do Kathy, Edgar, and Birkin visit on the way home from Sunday school? What do they give her?

3. Who originally discovers and takes interest in the painting? What arrangements does this person make regarding the painting?

4. Describe the wall monument that Birkin finds in the church.

5. What does Birkin think about Alice Keach after their first meeting?

6. What does Birkin specifically ask Keach if he can use? How does Keach respond?

7. Why does Kathy Ellerbeck come to visit Birkin at the church? What does she bring?

8. How does Thomas Birkin arrive in Oxgodby, England? What does he do when he first gets there?

9. How is the pay for uncovering the wall painting and why does Birkin accept the job at the church?

10. Who approaches Thomas Birkin when he first arrives in Oxgodby, England? What does this person offer Birkin? How does Birkin respond?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Birkin and Alice develop the metaphor of a puzzle for uncovering the painting. Write an essay examining this metaphor. What does it do for the novel? Do you think it is an apt metaphor? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Birkin denounces God immediately after he preaches at the Barton Ferry church. Write an essay examining what the novel has to say about the presence of God.

Essay Topic 3

When Birkin first gets to Oxgodby, the painting is completely hidden. By the time he leaves, he has uncovered the entire work. Write an essay examining the idea of hiding and revealing in the novel.

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