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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. Who, according to Ballard, "read the answer to her unspoken questions in the scars on my legs and chest" in the hospital?

2. Where do Helen and Ballard's trysts take place?

3. After the crash, Ballard states that an "uneasy _____ carried me towards the hospital."

4. What verdict is given at the coroner's inquest of Ballard's crash with Helen and her husband?

5. According to Ballard, what happens on the fourth day in the hospital "for no evident reason"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Dr. Robert Vaughan wanted by the police and how is it significant?

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

3. How does the wife of the man killed in the crash with Ballard react to the crash and why is it significant?

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

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

6. What does the prostitute Ballard hires share in common with his wife and his lover and what do they show about Ballard's character?

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

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

9. What kind of car does Ballard buy after his accident and what does it signify?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the uses of technology in "Crash."

1) What is the role of technology in the characters' lives?

2) How do the characters respond to and identify with technology?

3) How is technology a metaphor for evolution?

Essay Topic 2

Compare Vaughan and Ballard as characters. Define their major character traits and discuss their similarities and differences. What is the nature of their relationship? Is Vaughan or Ballard the hero of the novel? Give examples of each character to help support your statements.

Essay Topic 3

How does J.G. Ballard use language in the novel? How would you characterize the tone and style of the language? Support your statements with examples from the book.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 708 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample