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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. How does Steven Cochran feel about his place in his family?

2. Where does Sam go when he cannot sleep for worrying about the money in his safe?

3. How many years has it been since Diz and Jane were divorced?

4. What message does Abe leave on Diz' home answering machine?

5. How did Diz and Jane's son die?

Short Essay Questions

1. What surprises Abe when he meets Father Cavanaugh?

2. Who is Matthew R. Brody III and what information does he give Dismas regarding blackmailing Arturo Cruz?

3. What were Arturo Cruz' reasons for lying to the police about his knowledge of Eddie's death?

4. Why does Dismas go to the small town of Gonzalez?

5. What is revealed about Arturo Cruz and his knowledge about Eddie Cochran in Chapter 17?

6. What does Big Ed share with Dismas about Father Cavanaugh and his place in the Cochran family?

7. What are the circumstances of Linda Polk's death?

8. What bit of information does Rose, the rectory housekeeper, find to be out of place when Father Cavanaugh talks with Abe?

9. What might the death of Eddie Cochran teach Dismas about coming to terms with the death of his own infant son?

10. What advice does Dismas get from his former father-in-law, Judge Fowler, about the case?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain the concept of loneliness as it exhibits in the story. Which of the characters are lonely? Are they all lonely in some way? Explain the loneliness and the methods and attempts to overcome it.

Essay Topic 2

Explain the taboo of homosexuality that still existed at the time DEAD IRISH was written in 1989. Compare and contrast homosexuality in America during the late 20th century to homosexuality in America today. What major changes have occurred concerning the social attitude towards homosexuality in both positive and negative ways?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the role of the family in DEAD IRISH. What does it mean for each of the main characters? How does the family evolve in its support of each other? How typical is this family of most Irish families living during the late-20th century in America?

(see the answer keys)

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