View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Where does the fatal car crash that nearly misses Elizabeth Taylor occur?
(a) Next to a school.
(b) By a park.
(c) At an airport.
(d) Near a film studio.

2. Who does Ballard take to the stock-car races in the stadium at Northolt?
(a) Renata.
(b) Vaughan.
(c) His wife.
(d) Helen.

3. What happens to Ballard three days after his surgery in the hospital?
(a) He meets his wife's lover.
(b) He has an allergic reaction.
(c) He has a spiritual conversion.
(d) He gets a minor infection.

4. What is the person parked behind Ballard at the scene of the accident that killed Helen's husband doing?
(a) Writing on a pad.
(b) Flashing his headlights.
(c) Talking on the phone.
(d) Taking pictures of him.

5. According to Ballard, why does the young wife who is removed from her car after the crash resemble a "mentally defective girl" he once saw perform in a play?
(a) Because the young wife's wounds look like the girl's scars.
(b) Because the young wife's crying sounds like the girl's singing.
(c) Because the young wife's expression looks like the girl's face.
(d) Because the young wife's legs look like the girl's pirouette.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to Ballard, what do the scars above his patella replicate?

2. What does Ballard note about the Lincoln Continental Vaughan drives?

3. What kind of films did Ballard and Catherine see at the small art-cinema near their home?

4. Why does Ballard recognize the man taking pictures of him as Vaughan?

5. What premonitions does Ballard begin to have after being released from the hospital?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the chronology of the novel and why is it significant?

2. What is the point of view in "Crash"?

3. What dominates Ballard's thoughts as he recovers in the hospital and why is it significant?

4. Why does Ballard begin renting cars and what do they signify?

5. What are Ballard's injuries from his crash with the man and his wife and how does he respond to them?

6. How does Ballard regard his accident and why is it significant?

7. Describe Ballard and Catherine's marriage and explain its relevance to the novel.

8. Who is with Dr. Helen Remington in the hospital and why is it significant?

9. What is the significance of the airport in "Crash"?

10. In the hospital, what does Ballard begin to do once he's mobile and how is it significant?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 873 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample