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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 Ott PIckney shows up at Decker's hotel the day after sending Decker to see Skink, where does Pickney invite Decker to?

2. The day the New Orleans bass tournament begins, who is NOT in New Orleans for the tournament?

3. What is the name of the development that Reverend Weeb is billing as a new Christian city?

4. What show on television does Dickie Lockhart's fishing show follow in the Little Rock market?

5. As Skink and Decker sit in their boat waiting for the cheating fishermen to retrieve the marked fish, Decker asks if Skink is wanted for something. How does Skink respond?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Why did Catherine call Decker when she and James were on their honeymoon?

3. What does Jim Tile think will happen if Tile, Decker, and Skink report Pickney's body to the authorities?

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

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

6. What are the demands which Weeb agrees to when confronted by Dickie in Weeb's hotel room in New Orleans?

7. Why does Ott Pickney become the Davey Dillo mascot for the high school?

8. In Weeb's mind, what is the difference between a canal and a lake?

9. Why has Dennis Gault never rigged a bass tournament himself?

10. As Decker returns to Skink's house after Bobby's funeral, why does Decker honk his horn twice?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the characteristics, roles, loyalties, and agendas of the following people in the story: R.J. Decker, Skink, Dickie Lockhart, Charles Weeb, and Thomas Curl.

Essay Topic 2

R.J. Decker and Skink have been together throughout the novel. They've been shot at together, eluded police together, and tried to solve murders together. However, as the final plan comes together, the two men separate. Decker goes to rescue Catherine and Skink heads to Lunker Lakes. Why does Decker refuse to let Skink come with him and insist the other men continue their Lunker Lakes plan? What makes the Lunker Lakes plan different from their other plans? Do you agree with Decker's decision to rescue Catherine alone? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

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?

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