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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 something that Ballard does to the woman's body the night after his shopping excursion?

2. How does the Sheriff travel around the town in Chapter 45 (pp. 160-168)?

3. Which of the following is not something Ballard salvages from the fire?

4. Where does Ballard have sex with the newly killed girl?

5. What does Lester intimate to Ralph's daughter?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do the police catch Kirby selling jars of whiskey?

2. What happens to Ballard when he tries to cross the creek?

3. Why does Ballard decide to move the dead girl's body to an upper room?

4. What crime problem is the Sheriff facing in this section?

5. What does Ballard find in the running car on the side of the road?

6. Where does Ballard settle at the end of Chapter 30 (pp. 106-108)?

7. In what state is the town in this section?

8. What point does Mr. Fox make to Ballard about his debt to the grocery?

9. Why does Ballard return several times to the idling car?

10. Describe the story Fate tells about the 1899 hanging.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

As Ballard recedes deeper into madness, he also recedes farther from society. Write an essay on the topic of his descent into an animalistic state:

Part 1) How does Ballard transition from the land he sees auctioned to the dwelling he inhabits in the first book of the novel. What changes does he undergo during this time?

Part 2) After the shack burns down, where does Ballard go? Detail the nature of his existence in his new home. What does he have and how does he have things arranged? How does he pass his days?

Part 3) Describe Ballard's final descent into a subhuman state, digging his way in pitch blackness in a cave tunnel. In what state are his body and his mind at this point?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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