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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. What does Isaac use to pay for his and Baron's food at the diner in Book Three?

2. How far are Isaac and Baron from Detroit when they get off the train in Book Three?

3. What causes the fight between Poe and his cell-mate in Book Four?

4. Where did Harris's friends at the bar work previously in Book Four?

5. Harris's friends discuss town gossip in Book Four, including criticism that Harris let Poe off too easily several years ago when he'd done what?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Bud Harris discuss with his friends Riley, Chester, and Frank at the Dead End bar in Book Four?

2. How is the theme of sacrifice explored in Book Four of American Rust?

3. What inner conflicts does Grace Poe face in the beginning of Book Three?

4. What internal conflicts does Henry English face in Book Four?

5. How has Isaac English's character evolved in Book Four? How does the author illustrate the changes in Isaac?

6. What does Isaac do at the Wal-Mart store in Book Four?

7. What do Isaac and Baron do upon arriving in the outskirts of Detroit in Book Three?

8. What does Poe decide to do at the end of Book Three? Why?

9. What is the resulting outcome of Poe's fight in the cafeteria in Book Three?

10. How is the theme of decay illustrated in Book Three of American Rust?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the motif of suicide in American Rust. What characters have committed, attempt to commit, or do commit suicide in the novel? Why do they commit suicide? What do you think this indicates?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Henry English's circumstances in the novel. How did Henry become injured? What are the extent of his injuries? What leads Henry to kill himself at the end of the narrative?

Essay Topic 3

Describe and analyze the character of Isaac in the novel. How old is Isaac? What are his intentions in the beginning of the narrative? How does Isaac's character evolve in the course of the story?

(see the answer keys)

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