View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who calls Tommy Killian in Chapter 30 with news about the trial?

2. Which of the following people is not in Abe Weiss' office at the beginning of Chapter 29?

3. Who is suing Sherman McCoy's real estate agent at the end of the novel?

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

5. What is the status of Henry Lamb at the end of the novel?

Short Essay Questions

1. What high-minded reasoning does Weiss give for his prosecution of Sherman McCoy in Chapter 23?

2. How does the information of Maria Ruskin's complicity in the hit-and-run eventually reach Peter Fallow?

3. What does the mayor decide regarding the McCoy case?

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

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

6. What happens to the Lamb family at the end of the novel?

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

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

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

10. What promises does Tommy Killian make Sherman McCoy regarding his arrest?

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

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?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 933 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample