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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 is the name of the black boy in the car outside Lester's house?

2. What work did Ballard do to make money to buy his rifle?

3. What type of bird does Ballard chase down while walking to a friend's house?

4. What is the first prize that Ballard wins at the fair?

5. What plastic animals are used in the first game that Ballard plays at the fair?

Short Essay Questions

1. What changes does Ballard undergo in Chapter 14 (pp. 40-43)?

2. Describe the Dumpkeeper's situation at home.

3. Describe the interchange that Ballard has with the Dumpkeeper's blonde daughter.

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

5. Why does Ballard abruptly leave the Dumpkeeper's house in Chapter 16?

6. How is Lester Ballard's neck injured?

7. What process does the blacksmith use to sharpen Ballard's axe head?

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

9. Why is Lester Ballard ejected from his first game at the carnival?

10. What does the disfigured child do to Ballard's gift?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Cormac McCarthy is widely renowned for his evocative descriptions of the power of nature. His work seems to invoke a cruel God that allows human beings to hurt each other and then punishes them with the elements. Write an essay about two of the major natural events in the novel and how they coincide with the personal evil of Lester Ballard:

Part 1) How does the fire in Ballard's shack reflect the destruction of his soul within the context of his personal actions? Examine this event and the events surrounding it.

Part 2) How does the flood and torrential rain coincide with Ballard's complete degeneration into madness? Describe both the effects of the flood and the personal toll it takes on Ballard.

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

By the end of the novel, Lester Ballard has accumulated a strange menagerie of items in his cave. Each has a particular meaning and function for him, and each reflects a sort of perversion of traditional values and relationships. Write a paragraph about each of these items, how they came into Ballard's possession, and what they mean thematically:

Part 1) The rifle

Part 2) The stuffed animals

Part 3) The women's clothes

(see the answer keys)

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