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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 does Ballard wear around his feet on his mountain trek?

2. What was stolen from Fate during the night?

3. Where is Ralph when Ballard shows up at his house?

4. Into what other county does Ballard cross at the beginning of this section?

5. What does the boy do to precipitate Ballard's shooting him?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. How does Ballard subsist as the harsh winter descends?

4. Why does Ballard go to Blount County?

5. Describe Ballard's appearance at the end of this section.

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

7. What does Ballard do on his trip into town?

8. How does Ballard's situation change in this section?

9. What wakes Lester Ballard the night after his shopping spree in town?

10. What does Ballard do at his old property, now Greer's?

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

Many critics have charged McCarthy's writing with being nihilistic, beautiful, but ultimately meaningless. They argue that his work evocatively explored man's inclination to destroy, but it takes no sides. Write an essay either in agreement or refutation of this. Use specific examples from Child of God to argue either that McCarthy takes a position on Ballard's actions or that he simply relates the horrific.

(see the answer keys)

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