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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. What is NOT an element Neal mentions when trying to get the judge to set a high bail amount for Jacob?

2. How does Jacob behave at the shiva held by Ben's family?

3. When Laurie picks up the phone during dinner and experiences a fright, how many days are left until Jacob's trial?

4. The Middlesex County Courthouse where Andy works is filled with what material?

5. Where is Ben's body discovered?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the clue that points most markedly to Jacob's involvement in Ben's murder?

2. How does the author use Jacob's relationship with the telephone to indicate Jacob's lack of comfort with intimacy?

3. What action does Dan Rifkin take against Andy once Jacob comes under suspicion?

4. What happens when Andy and Laurie confront Jacob about the knife Andy found in Jacob's room?

5. Discuss one coping mechanism Andy uses to get through Jacob's murder trial.

6. How is the theme of deception depicted within Andy's conversation with Sarah in Chapter 5?

7. How is the email address of the mysterious link-sender used to demonstrate the major theme within the text?

8. What job does Andy hold at the time of Ben's murder, and how is he involved in the homicide response?

9. Discuss the meaning of the epigraph for Part One of the novel.

10. Discuss one statement that Andy makes under oath and then names as a deception to the reader.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the shocking and unexpected ending of William Landay's novel Defending Jacob. What are the author's intentions for the ending's effects on the reader?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss William Landay's use of the appearance versus reality theme throughout the novel.

Essay Topic 3

What is the novel's message concerning violence and the human condition?

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