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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 is the first thing the three young people notice when they arrive in Memphis?

2. Where does Hollis tell Hassan and Colin Lindsey is spending the night?

3. What happens when Colin fires at a wild pig?

4. What does Lindsey's boyfriend do?

5. Why is Hollis burying the string?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Hassan say he is not going to work that Thursday?

2. What does Hassan tell Colin he shared with Lindsey?

3. Who are the boys supposed to interview the day after the fight?

4. What is Hollis' long-plan for keeping the factory going and the town in operation?

5. Describe the fight that starts by Hassan playing the confessions of Katrina and Colin that Hassan recorded.

6. What will happen between Colin and Lindsey according to Colin's theorem?

7. Why do the three teens go to Memphis and what do they observe?

8. Where does Colin say he is going and where does he actually go?

9. What do Colin and Hassan witness in the cemetery?

10. How does Colin prepare for the pig hunt and where do they meet the other hunters?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss one of the following:

1. Trace and analyze the theme of growth in "An Abundance of Katherines". Consider the following questions as you write: What characters are most concerned with growth? Why? What are some symbols of growth? Symbols of rigidity? What characters seem rigid?

2. Trace and analyze the theme of self awareness in "An Abundance of Katherines". Which characters struggle with this issue? Why? Which characters seem to possess self awareness? Why?

3. Trace and analyze the theme of letting go of the past in "An Abundance of Katherines". How does Colin finally realize he needs to look to the future? How does his struggle bring him to that point? What events propel him into the future? What other characters struggle with letting go of the past?

Essay Topic 2

Sometimes a book has more of a character-driven plot rather than action driven, and sometimes it is the other way. Some books seem to balance the two. Discuss the following:

1. What do you think it means to say that a plot is character driven? Action driven?

2. How do you think a plot differs if it is character driven versus action driven?

3. Which type of plot do you find more interesting? Why?

4. Do you think it is possible to have a plot where action and character development share equal time? Why or why not.

5. What type of plot do you think "An Abundance of Katherines" is? Explain your response.

Essay Topic 3

Over the course of "An Abundance of Katherines", Colin grows as a person in both complexity and understanding. "An Abundance of Katherines" might be considered a slice of Colin's larger story of his "coming of age." It might be said that this story is a "bildungsroman" of Colin Singleton. Discuss the following:

1. Define Bildungsroman, or "Coming of Age," and give several examples from literature you have read.

2. Trace and analyze the character of Colin as he changes from having little knowledge of himself or the world to a wiser, young man. What are the significant events that change Colin?

3. After thoroughly analyzing Colin's growth throughout An Abundance of Katherines, do you think "An Abundance of Katherines" could be considered Colin's Coming of Age story? Why or why not?

4. Are there any other characters in "An Abundance of Katherines" who go through a Coming of Age experience? Who? Why do you think so?

(see the answer keys)

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