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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. What did Rudolph neglect to tell Father Schwartz about what had happened with his friends in the barn?

2. What does Rudolph tell Father Schwartz when he asks Rudolph if he has told any lies in his confession?

3. How does Father Schwartz know Rudolph's father?

4. How did Rudolph feel when his father told him to go to confession three days earlier?

5. What does Father Schwartz first do when Rudolph arrives at the start of the story?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did Rudolph stay and confess despite his urge to leave while he waited at the confessional in Chapter 2?

2. What questions does Father Schwartz ask Rudolph when he says he has committed a terrible sin?

3. What words does Father Schwartz use when addressing Rudolph in the confessional in Chapter 2?

4. What does Father Schwartz do on Saturdays after confession? What happens as he passes the drug store that increases his sadness?

5. What did Rudolph try to force himself to do as he waited at the confessional in Chapter 2?

6. What made Rudolph uncomfortable as he sat waiting to confess at the start of Chapter 2?

7. What plan does Rudolph come up with at the end of Chapter 2 to avoid having to take communion at church the next day?

8. What does Father Schwartz tell Rudolph he should have done when he was in the barn with the boy and the girl?

9. What "easy sins" did Rudolph confess to Father Schwartz in Chapter 2?

10. What object in Father Schwartz's room reminds him of "gruesome labyrinths" (1)? Why does he stare at this object in the first place?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about the author of "Absolution." Who is he? What else has he written? How is "Absolution" similar or different from his other works?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay discussing the setting and time period of "Absolution." In what ways does the time period and setting impact your understanding of the story as well as the themes?

Essay Topic 3

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 themes of entrapment, isolation, and longing?

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