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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. Why did Roland not come forward earlier with the information?

2. What gesture did Sherman make to Judy before going to work in his first days at Pierce and PIerce?

3. Who visits the Reverend Bacon at the beginning of Chapter 25?

4. The dictator of what country is dining at the restaurant at the same time as Fallow and Ruskin?

5. Which of the following is not a call that Lopwitz takes during his meeting with Sherman?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Judge Kovisky decide to bring Sherman to his chambers along with the attorneys?

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

3. What is Tommy Killian and Quigley's plan to get proof of Maria's complicity in the hit-and-run?

4. Where does the incriminating recording of Maria come from?

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

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

7. What story does the City Light run as a result of Fallow's meeting with Arthur Ruskin?

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

9. As Kramer is interviewing Maria Ruskin, what does he realize he loves about his job?

10. Why does Bernie disagree with Abe Weiss about the planned arrest of Sherman?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Using the high society parties in Bonfire of the Vanities, write an essay about Wolfe's attitude toward the ceremonies of the upper-crust of New York society. What is expected and decried within these functions? Use specific characters (Judy McCoy, Bunning) and their interactions with Sherman McCoy to argue your point.

Essay Topic 2

Tom Wolfe's New York is a den of tigers, comprised largely of ambitious and venal men willing to exploit any angle to accumulate and keep power. Write an essay on the power-brokers of Bonfire of the Vanities:

Part 1) Abe Weiss is a subtly racist politician in a city of minorities. What does he do over the course of the novel to appease his minority constituents? How does he aggrandize himself in doing this? What is his aim?

Part 2) Reverend Bacon is a classic pious charlatan. What does he preach to his constituents and his opponents? What are his true designs in preaching this message?

Part 3) Larry Kramer likes to imagine himself as a savvy player in corrupt system and a defender of the common man. What does he want for his good works? What does he consider his prize for this?

Essay Topic 3

Using the Epilogue as a frame, write an essay about the moral vacuum of Bonfire of the Vanities. Wolfe has created a world where the only way to survive is dogged self-interest and exploitation of others. Choose three characters whose fates are discussed in the epilogue and use their character arcs to show how honesty and high-mindedness does not pay off in the end.

(see the answer keys)

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