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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. Whose meetings were described as the American Pastoral par excellence?

2. What did Merry teach along with revolutionary ideas to Cuban refugees?

3. What does Swede realize that Merry has been since she was fifteen after he sees her in Chapter 6?

4. Whom does Swede decide to call at the end of Chapter 6 to talk about Merry?

5. What does Swede decide about the person that calls him that causes him to hang up on that person in Chapter 9?

Short Essay Questions

1. What realization does Swede come to about Sheila in Chapter 9?

2. What does Merry tell Swede she did while in Miami in Chapter 6?

3. How is Swede's time as a marine described in Chapter 5?

4. What is the nature of Lou's discussion regarding the downfall of Newark in Chapter 8?

5. How does Dawn describe her home with Swede to her architect?

6. What does Swede ponder about when thinking of Rita stealing his money?

7. How does Swede compare his life to Johnny Appleseed?

8. What does Swede witness when he walks in on Dawn and Bill in his kitchen during the dinner party?

9. What does Jessie do to Lou at the end of the book?

10. What is the nature of the letter Swede receives from Rita at the beginning of Chapter 5?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the portrayal of the Jewish neighborhood in the book. What importance did this culture have in Nathan and Swede's upbringing and future?

Essay Topic 2

One of the major factors to create Merry's militant actions is the impact of Swede's kiss to Merry as a child.

Part 1) What is telling of Merry based on her request that her father kiss her like he would her mother?

Part 2) What about Swede's sudden pullback after he had kissed Merry as a child could have caused her militant behavior later in life?

Part 3) What about Swede's inability to understand the impact his kiss had on Merry suggests he is unable to relate to others in his life?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the portrayal of the family structure in the book. What might the author be saying about the typical portrayal of the family structure based on his depiction of Swede's family?

(see the answer keys)

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