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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. How does Willie benefit from what happens at the school fire drill?

2. Why does Annabelle sell Phebe, her waiting maid?

3. What is Judge Irwin's response to Willie's request?

4. Who recommended the school for Cass?

5. What was Willie Stark's job when Jack Burden first meets him?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is it that makes Adam accept the position of director of the hospital?

2. What leads Jack to believe that the judge had more secret financial dealings?

3. What startling fact is revealed to Jack when he goes home to see if Judge Irwin will use his influence with MacMurfree?

4. How does Willie's standard manipulative behavior exhibit in Chapter 8?

5. Who was Jack find was the unexpected instigator in the deaths of Adam and Willie?

6. Why does the author have Jack return home from California?

7. What role did Judge Irwin play in Jack's childhood?

8. Explain Anne's pattern of not committing to any permanent relationship in her life.

9. What happens at the school two years after the new school is built?q

10. What leads Jack to explore the judge's interest in the American Electric Power Company?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Tiny Duffy is characterized as the epitome of evil in the book. Explain Tiny's motives for what he does. Do you think people like Tiny gravitate toward political positions because there is more opportunity for advancement? Or for greed? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

Who is the character with the most moral fiber in the story? Do you think there is one character who will not be manipulated or used in some way for personal gain? Is there one character, besides Willy, who will stoop to almost anything to get what he/she wants no matter what the personal cost?

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast Willy Stark to Huey Long, the real Governor of Louisiana during that time period. How are they alike? How are they different? Do you think the author's characterization of Willy is so true to Huey Long because the novel was written so soon after Long's death and his personality was still so "alive?" What risks did the author run by writing a book that so closely mirrored a public figure with a questionable past?

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