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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. Why is Quentin Compson going to leave Jefferson in the fall?

2. After Sutpen's estate has been built but left unfurnished for several years, he leaves Jefferson for a short period of time. What does he return with?

3. How old is Rosa when Ellen dies?

4. Whose regiment does Thomas Sutpen join?

5. In what year does Stupen's marriage take place?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Clytie is trying to get Quentin to bring Rosa back downstairs when Rosa has come to Sutpen's Hundred in 1909, Clytie tells Quentin, "Whatever he done, me and Judith and him have paid it out." What does she mean that they have "paid it out?"

2. Repeatedly throughout Chapter 3, Ellen is referred to as "a butterfly." Why is she characterized this way, and what does it mean?

3. The story of Sutpen's youth as a poor white on a plantation describes considerable hostility from poor whites directed at black slaves. What was the cause of this hostility?

4. Why is it ironic that the only Sutpen descendant left at the end of the novel is Jim Bond?

5. Why is it significant that it rains on Sutpen's wedding night?

6. What is Shreve's final question to Quentin?

7. What is Quentin distracted by at the end of Chapter 5 that causes him to stop paying attention to the story?

8. Why was Rosa offended that Wash Jones came to the front of the house when he arrived to notify her of Charles Bon's death?

9. How is Judith portrayed in Chapter 1?

10. Why didn't Sutpen like sugar?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In what ways can _Absalom, Absalom!_ be considered a revenge story? Please provide specific examples from the novel.

Essay Topic 2

Who is the protagonist of _Absalom, Absalom_? Who is the antagonist? Give reasons from the text to support your claims.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss how Faulkner uses characters' clothing to characterize them throughout the novel. Pick a specific character and comment on the evolution of that character's dress throughout the novel and what that evolution means about that character.

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