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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 role does Pierce say Conklin has played in his friendship with Soneji at the end of Chapter 100?

2. Where has Mr. Smith hidden Sante?

3. What kind of work has Cross done for years at the hospital?

4. With what does Pierce familiarize himself in his hotel in New Jersey?

5. Who discovers Nana in the street?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Cross notice about Pierce's apartment?

2. Describe Sondra Greenberg.

3. Is Cross expected to live after being attacked in his home?

4. What does Sondra Greenberg think about Pierce?

5. What is Sampson's reaction to the attack on Cross family?

6. What does Pierce find in Conklin's cellar?

7. Why do Sampson and Pierce travel to Princeton, NJ?

8. What is the first clue Pierce leaves after he has killed Isabella?

9. After Mr. Smith autopsies Sante, what does he do?

10. What do Pierce and Sampson discover on Walter Murphy's farm?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the significance of trains to Soneji? Why did he steal his stepbrother's train set and bury it? How do the murders in the train stations make him feel as though he is taking back his power?

Essay Topic 2

Describe Pierce Thomas. How do other characters respond to him? What does he think of himself? What fatal flaw does his character have?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the plot development of this novel. How does the author connect the two stories of Soneji and Mr. Smith?

(see the answer keys)

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