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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 does the narrator return to her house after her trip in town?

2. Who harasses and beats Mr. Vercueil one day?

3. When does the person the narrator met at the start of Part One return?

4. How does the narrator sign the letter she writes to her housekeeper?

5. Who does the narrator find at the start of Part One?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the narrator ask the homeless man to do upon her death?

2. What happens after the police van continued driving?

3. What does the narrator tell the homeless man stories about on the trip into town?

4. Who returns with her two young daughters and teenage son in Part Two, pgs. 35-56?

5. What happened to the narrator three years ago?

6. What does the narrator warn Florence of regarding hate?

7. What is unique about the aged woman's views on the apartheid system?

8. Who does the narrator see parked outside of her house?

9. What does Vercueil explain to the narrator when they reach the boy's hospital room?

10. What does the narrator say to the homeless man about her family?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze Coetzee's development of the plot in the "Age of Iron", from the initial situation to the climax and conclusion.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the symbolism of cancer in "Age of Iron" and why Coetzee chose to use a terminal disease to show the relationship with apartheid, believed a disease of hatred.

Essay Topic 3

Examine the correlation between Mrs. Curren's act of writing letters and her self preservation in the "Age of Iron".

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This section contains 580 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample