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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. Where is Inman's companion planning on going?

2. What does Ada find in the basement of her house?

3. Who is Claire Duchutes?

4. Why does a preacher believe Inman means to kill him?

5. Who is Swimmer and why does Inman think about him after reading the news?

Short Essay Questions

1. What surprises Ada about the circumstances of her conception and birth?

2. Why did Inman decide he would like to meet Ada?

3. What is the main topic of conversation when Ada and Ruby visit Monroe's friend, Mrs. McKennet?

4. What does Inman leave money for even as he steals it?

5. What does Inman do with a saw he and Veasey find?

6. What does Ruby instruct Ada to create?

7. What happens when Inman attempts to cross a river using the canoe of a young Indian woman?

8. What happened to Ruby when she was only four?

9. What is the purpose of the spell, To Destroy Life?

10. Who attempts to seduce Inman by putting some sort of drug in his drink?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Who is Inman? Why is Inman in the hospital? What has Inman done to be there? What war is Inman fighting? What side of the war is Inman fighting for? Why? Does Inman believe in the war? Why or why not? Why did Inman enlist? Why does Inman leave the hospital? Is Inman allowed to leave the hospital? What does Inman hope to find at the end of his travels?

Essay Topic 2

Homecoming is a theme of the novel. Why does Inman want to return home? What is he hoping to come home to? How does Inman see the rest of his life playing out? Why does Inman decide to return home early from the war even though he will be considered a deserter? What does Inman's actions say about his emotional health? What do Inman's actions say about his feelings regarding the war?

Essay Topic 3

Inman and Ada barely know one another before Inman goes to war, but Inman is deeply in love with Ada. Discuss how courtship was different in the time period in which this novel takes place. Would a modern woman have waited for a man like Inman return from war like Ada does? Would a modern woman fall in love with a man with such limited contact? Would a modern man imagine a lifetime with a woman he knew such a short time? Did the war affect the affection these two people felt for one another? In what way?

(see the answer keys)

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