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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. Who do the Brits at Leicester's con into footing the bill for their drinks?

2. With whom in the DA's office has Tommy Killian been in contact?

3. Which stock increases value in Chapter 6, earning Sherman's Cleveland client a good return?

4. What happens at the social event in Chapter 14 that particularly annoys Sherman?

5. Why is Fallow in pain when he arrived at the office?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Judy explain Sherman's work to Campbell?

2. Why does Sherman McCoy have to go to the toilet at his firm to read the newspaper?

3. How does Tommy Killian explain the criminal justice system to Sherman in Chapter 17?

4. What is Abe Weiss perpetually searching for and why?

5. What are Kramer's principle concerns about the Henry Lamb case?

6. How do the Brits at Leicester's generally pay their tabs?

7. How does Fallow falsify the source of his information regarding the Mercedes search?

8. How does Kramer's attempt to impress his liberal friends in Chapter 10 backfire?

9. After hearing Sherman's story, what is Freddy's concern?

10. How does Sherman McCoy's self-image change during the course of Chapter 3?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

According to Aristotle's Poetics, a tragic hero is a person that strives intently towards a certain goal only to discover that he or she has accomplished its opposite. Write an essay about Sherman McCoy as a character who has twice experienced this tragic catharsis:

Part 1) At the beginning of the novel, what does Sherman McCoy think he deserves in life? How does his pursuit of this lead him to its opposite?

Part 2) Late in the novel, Sherman discusses his early days at Pierce and Pierce with Judy. When he was younger his goals were different than they are just before he meets Henry Lamb. To what extent is this conversation a delayed catharsis about his first tragic loss? How has Sherman already lost something when the novel begins?

Essay Topic 2

Abe Weiss is in many respects the driving force behind all the action of the novel. Write an essay about Abe Weiss and how the plot is a vehicle for his actions. What does he ultimately want? How does the Henry Lamb case become important to that objective? What measures does Abe Weiss take to achieve this objective through Kramer, Sherman, and Fallow?

Essay Topic 3

One of the reasons that Bonfire of the Vanities is regarded as such an acerbic satire is the way characters unabashedly relate to each other in terms of race. Wolfe tends to associate certain qualities with certain ethnic groups. Write an essay about the fraternity of the following three races. What major characters in the novel are of this ethnicity? What do they have in common? What do you think Wolfe is saying about this racial group?

Part 1) WASP

Part 2) Jewish

Part 3) Irish

(see the answer keys)

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