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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. When Dexter tells Deborah, "she doesn't like you, and she doesn't want you on her turf" who is he referring to?

2. Dexter realizes that ______ likes him.

3. In context to Chapter 1, the word "mess" refers to what?

4. Who does Dexter tell about his discovery in his refrigerator?

5. How many slides with dry drops of blood does Dexter have in Chapter 2?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe in detail the process by which Dexter captures his first victim of the novel. Where does he take his victim?

2. Why does Dexter go out for a drive in the middle of the night? What is he hoping to find?

3. What "trophy" does the Tamiami Trail Killer give to Dexter? For what reason does Dexter believe the killer gave him this trophy?

4. How does Dexter feel about killing and in what way does killing satisfy Dexter? How does killing affect his "dark schemata"?

5. What are the priest's final words? Why do you think he says this?

6. Who is Dexter Morgan? Who is his father and what was his occupation? Describe the relationship Dexter has with his father.

7. For what reason does Dexter say he does his job? Does he do it to catch the bad guy?

8. Why are Dexter's co-workers surprised to see him at the crime scene in the beginning of the novel? What is Dexter's reaction to this news? Explain.

9. Describe Dexter's dream in Chapter 7. What literary device is the author using through this dream?

10. What is the name of the suspect arrested in the Tamiami Trail murder case? What makes this person a potential suspect?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Define a tragic hero. Based on your definition, create an argument for or against Dexter being a tragic hero.

Essay Topic 2

Pick a character from the novel in which a character's success in achieving goals depends on keeping a secret and divulging it only at the right moment. Briefly explain the necessity for secrecy and how the character's choice to reveal or keep the secret affects the plot and contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.

Essay Topic 3

Choose a character from the novel, other than Dexter, whose mind is pulled in conflicting directions by two compelling desires, ambitions, obligations, or influences. Then, in a well-organized essay, identify each of the two conflicting forces and explain how this conflict with one character illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole.

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