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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. Where are Rudolph and Father Schwartz at the start of Chapter 5?

2. What does Rudolph tell Father Schwartz at church on Sunday morning in Chapter 4?

3. How are the phrases Father Schwartz mutters to Rudolph at the end of the story described?

4. At the end of the story, Rudolph decides that he will not be punished for his lie. Why is that?

5. How does Rudolph feel as the time for communion nears at church in Chapter 4?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Rudolph feel as time for communion nears? Why does he ultimately get up to take communion?

2. What is Carl Miller's Sunday morning routine as seen at the start of Chapter 3?

3. What happens to Father Schwartz at the end of the story? What does Rudolph do?

4. Why is Carl upset at Rudolph when he finds him in the kitchen in Chapter 3?

5. At the end of the story, why does Rudolph feel that God will not punish him for his lies?

6. What happens between Carl and Rudolph after Rudolph angrily tosses his cup into the kitchen sink in Chapter 3?

7. With whom does Rudolph walk to church? What is he told he must do when he arrives?

8. What does Carl pray for in the church pew as he kneels beside his son?

9. What are the only two options Rudolph thinks he has after his father finds him in the kitchen in Chapter 3?

10. What does Rudolph tell Father Schwartz in the confessional in Chapter 4 after his altercation with his father?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the use of dialogue versus the use of description. Look at how each is used in the story and what makes these uses effective or ineffective.

Essay Topic 2

Examine Rudolph's eyes as symbolic in "Absolution."

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?

(see the answer keys)

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