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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. After walking away from his elected office, where did Clinton Tyree settle down?

2. What nickname does Skink call Decker by?

3. How many men are on the boat that comes to retrieve the marked fish at the New Orleans fishing tournament?

4. When Dickie Lockhart gets drunk and goes to find Charles Weeb in New Orleans, what is the date?

5. What is the name of Bobby Clinch's mistress?

Short Essay Questions

1. After Skink releases all but two of the bass that were stashed in fish cages the night before the bass tournament in New Orleans, Skink clips the first two spines on the dorsal fins of the remaining two bass. Why?

2. How does Pickney characterize bass guides when Decker asks Pickney for his help in finding a guide?

3. According to Lanie Gault, what made Bobby Clinch different from all the other fishermen at the bass tournaments?

4. Decker realizes that he's met Lanie Gault before Harney. Where did Decker originally meet Lanie Gault?

5. According to Decker, what is the most dreaded assignment in journalism?

6. At the beginning of the story, while he's filming the next episode of his fishing show, why is Dickie Lockhart frustrated?

7. Why does the local pathologist who examines Bobby Clinch's body not do a thorough autopsy?

8. Years earlier, when Dennis Gault offered money to an undercover federal officer to kill Dickie Lockhart, why wasn't Dennis arrested?

9. Years before the story takes place, what did Decker do to land him in Apalachee prison?

10. When Dickie goes to Weeb's hotel room in New Orleans, what is the rumor that Dickie has heard?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

R.J. Decker's first job out of high school was as a professional photographer. Discuss Decker's professional photography positions, as well as why Decker chose to leave photography behind and become a private investigator. Then, expand your discussion to include the ironic fact that Decker's life is saved during the story through the clever use of his camera. How might Decker's life - and the story - have changed if Decker's first love had not been photography? Explain your reasoning.

Essay Topic 2

There are several characters introduced in the story who do not survive until the end. Identify at least three people killed as the novel progresses. Compare and contrast each of these deaths, being sure to indicate which character died, how the character died, who was responsible for the character's death, and what impact on the overall plot the character's death had. What could have - or should have - been learned from each of these deaths by the other characters?

Essay Topic 3

Bobby Clinch and Ott Pickney can be seen as kindred spirits. Although they are not quite the same, they share a number of similarities. Identify and describe these similarities. Then, based on your discussion of their similarities, identify the ways in which these two men's similarities facilitate the plot's development and moves the story forward.

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