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This test consists of 5 short answer questions and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Jack discover about the wealth of Judge Irwin's second wife?

2. What does Jack recall during the trip?

3. What do Adam and Willie discuss when Jack and Willie go to Adam's apartment?

4. What does Adam recall about an argument between Judge Irwin and Governor Stanton?

5. What does Anne eventually decide about marriage to Jack?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the theme of good vs. evil in the novel. Who/what represents good? Who/what represents evil? How do they co-exist or do they? What is the final confrontation?

Essay Topic 3

If Jack's mother has always been in love with Judge Irwin, why didn't she marry him, especially when she became pregnant? Why would Jack's mother suffer through a string of inferior men as husbands? What price did she pay in order to keep Jack ignorant about the identity of his real father?

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This section contains 372 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample