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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 initially forget when he leaves the car?

2. What is the first thing that Lester Ballard does after returning home with the body?

3. Where does Ballard go the morning after his shack burns?

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

5. What does Ballard Leave outside when he goes into Ralph's house?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How does Ballard react to Ralph's daughter's rejection of his advances?

3. How is Ballard spooked by his own footprints?

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

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

6. Why does Ballard go to Blount County?

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

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

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

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

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

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 3

Write an essay about the Sheriff. Is he an effective law enforcer? Is he a principled man with a vision for his County? Write your essay in three paragraphs, detailing three specific episodes in the text that are driven by the Sheriff. Detail the episodes and examine how effective the character is in achieving his objective.

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