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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 is the only person that calls Sherman with condolences who is not in his family?

2. How many reporters have been assigned to corroborating Fallow's tip about Maria Ruskin?

3. What is the subject of Peter Fallow's news article in Chapter 30?

4. Where does Fallow dine with Arthur Ruskin?

5. What important piece of information does Kovitsky neglect to mention in his dismissal of the McCoy indictment?

Short Essay Questions

1. What simple domestic act does Sherman attempt the morning after his arrest, and what happens?

2. What does Fallow see at the funeral?

3. How is Sherman's experience at the di Ducci event different from his experience at the Bavardages'?

4. Which of Killian's promises are broken during his arrest?

5. What does Edward Fiske accuse Reverend Bacon of in Chapter 25?

6. What aspects of Sherman McCoy's life are disrupted by the Henry Lamb case?

7. Describe Maria Ruskin's testimony.

8. What happens to Sherman McCoy in the holding cell awaiting the calling of his case?

9. How does Sherman's opinion of his father change in Chapter 21 and why?

10. Why has no one heard of Roland Auburn even though he has been in the papers?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Mayor of New York is the only recurring character in the novel without a name. Write an essay about the mayor as a symbol for the political, legal, and business system of New York. What does the mayor fear? What does he consider his failures and successes? How does he cope with forces he does not understand and cannot face?

Essay Topic 2

Lust for the flesh is the only inclination in Wolfe's novel that supersedes lust for money or power. Write an essay focusing on Sherman, Maria, and Kramer, analyzing how each makes foolish choices because of lust. How are both Sherman and Maria undone by unwise sexual decisions? How does Shelly Thomas become such an idol to Kramer?

Essay Topic 3

Sherman McCoy, at the beginning of the novel, considers himself a "Master of the Universe." Write an essay about what that means in his life. How does it affect his attitude toward family? Fidelity? His work? What is Tom Wolfe saying about the nature of capitalism in the 1980s through the character of Sherman McCoy?

(see the answer keys)

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