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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. Who is with the narrator as she drives to the township?

2. What is the narrator impressed about?

3. What does Mr. Vercueil do with the keys of the car?

4. What does Vercueil do instead of what the narrator asked?

5. Where is John sitting on Page 147?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the narrator think about when sitting in the car alone?

2. What happens the morning the doorbell rings repeatedly?

3. What does John ask when he comes downstairs?

4. What seems to ease Mrs. Curren's pain?

5. What does John ask money for?

6. What does the narrator recall about her daughter?

7. What does the narrator wonder about her ability to love?

8. What is the narrator told when she asks who is responsible?

9. What does Mrs. Curren do when Mr. Vercueil is not looking?

10. What advice does the narrator offer to Mr. Thabane?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss why Coetzee chose to use first person and a narrator to tell the story in the "Age of Iron".

Essay Topic 2

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

Essay Topic 3

Examine how rules and order are depicted in the book, and conclude why Mrs. Curren believes that the rules are necessary to maintain peace.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 550 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample