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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. Why does Ballard abruptly stop having sex with the dead girl?

2. From what group did the White Caps splinter?

3. What does Ballard do with the girl's body at the end of Chapter 27 (pp. 93-95)?

4. What is the last thing that Ballard carries to his new cave?

5. How many daughters are still living with the Dumpkeeper?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How is Ballard spooked by his own footprints?

3. What does Ballard realize about the Ralph's idiot baby?

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

5. Why does Ballard go to Blount County?

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

7. How were the White Caps run out of Sevier?

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

9. Describe Ballard's second interview by the police.

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Lester Ballard is a man who feel victimized and put upon by the society around him. He strikes out at individuals whom he views as antagonistic toward him and intent on keeping him under foot. Analyze Ballard's sense of subjugation in an essay:

Part 1) Citing the chapter in which a resident of Sevier County relates Ballard's early life, examine how the cards were stacked against him from an early age. Did Ballard ever have a change for a normal, stable life?

Part 2) Examine the scenes where Ballard comes into contact with law enforcement. What does he believe the police are doing to him? Do you think he knows that he has committed a crime? How does his first trip to the police station in the novel shadow his second?

Part 3) Discuss the grudge that Ballard has for Greer. What has Greer done to him, and how does Ballard react? When does it begin, and how does this relationship typify Ballard's sense of victimization?

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

Write an essay about the Dumpkeeper. This essay should be comprised of three paragraphs. The first should focus on his living situation and how it reflects a weakness of resolve. The second should involve his crimes. In what ways is he as perverse as Ballard? The final paragraph should be an examination of the enabling relationship that he and Ballard have.

(see the answer keys)

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