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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 is Ballard skeptical about Helen working for the Road Research Laboratory?

2. Who is the driver parked behind Ballard at the scene of the accident that killed Helen's husband?

3. What injuries does Ballard sustain after the crash?

4. According to Ballard, why did Vaughan's former career come to an abrupt end?

5. The firemen who cut Ballard's door from its hinges looked like what according to Ballard?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What is Helen Remington doing at the impound yard when Ballard returns to survey the damage to his car and what does it show about her character?

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

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

5. How does Dr. Robert Vaughan interrupt Ballard's rendezvous with the prostitute and why is it important?

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

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

8. What kind of pleasure did Vaughan derive from car crashes and how is it significant?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the treatment of women in "Crash." Provide specific examples to support your statements.

1) How would you characterize Ballard's relationship with the women in his life?

2) What roles do the women embrace and what roles do they reject and why?

Essay Topic 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

Identify and discuss the plot and subplot of "Crash." Make sure you define the terms in your essay response.

1) What is the conflict of the novel?

2) What is the climax of the novel?

3) What is the novel's resolution?

(see the answer keys)

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