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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. Which of the following is not listed among the disabled child's playthings?

2. What does Ballard offer to show the Sheriff when they take him away?

3. What does the sleeping woman throw at Ballard?

4. Where does Ballard's friend's daughter go when she leaves the house?

5. Why can the boy in the car not find his wallet when Fate asks for it?

Short Essay Questions

1. What transpires between Ballard and the woman he finds sleeping on Frog Mountain?

2. How does the Sleeping Woman react to Ballard at the police station and what transpires?

3. What statement does the Sheriff make to Ballard after he is released?

4. Why does the unnamed man in Chapter 5 (pp. 17-18) decide he does not like Lester Ballard?

5. Describe Lester's new home.

6. Describe the baby of Ballard's friend, Ralph.

7. What deal does Lester Ballard try to broker with Fred Kirby?

8. How is Lester Ballard's neck injured?

9. Describe the Dumpkeeper's situation at home.

10. How did Ballard get his rifle?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The conflict between Ballard and society in the novel is reflected in many respects by a conflict between Sevier County and the wild Frog Mountain. Write an essay detailing this conflict between wilderness and town. Who is associated with either side of the conflict? What occurs in each? How is each described by the author?

Essay Topic 2

In what way does Lester Ballard's interactions with the Sleeping Woman on Frog Mountain codify his attitude toward women and his desire to have them in a lifeless state. In the essay, compare and contrast his interaction with her to his interaction with Ralph's daughter. Also compare his defense to the police with her to his defense to the posse at the end of the novel. Pay attention to the terms he uses to describe her.

Essay Topic 3

Do you think that Lester Ballard is an essentially evil man or simply a weak individual driven to extremity by hardship? Write an essay in three parts focusing on two instances in the novel that illustrate your position and one that refutes the opposite view. Be sure to focus on his crimes, childhood, and general mental state.

(see the answer keys)

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