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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. In the story "Revelation," what does Mrs. Turpin do as she is working in the pig parlor?

2. In the story "A View of the Woods," why does Fortune think Mary Fortune allows her father to beat her?

3. In the story "The Comforts of Home," how does Star's lawyer characterize her?

4. In the story "A View of the Woods," what does Fortune attempt to buy for Mary Fortune to appease her?

5. In the story "Greenleaf," what does Mrs. May think the reason is for E.T. and O.T. not coming to get their bull?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "The Lame Shall Enter First," what draws Sheppard to Rufus Johnson?

2. What does the narrator say is the "irony" of the way Julian has turned out in the story "Everything That Rises Must Converge"?

3. Describe the tractor accident in the story "Parker's Back."

4. In the story "Judgment Day," what is the joke Tanner plans on playing on Coleman and Hooten?

5. In "The Lame Shall Enter First," what does Norton do when looking through the telescope alone at night?

6. In the story "The Enduring Chill," who does Asbury believe is responsible for his failure as an artist? Why?

7. Describe Julian's mother's hat in the story "Everything That Rises Must Converge."

8. Describe social class from Mrs. Turpin's perspective as presented in the story "Revelation."

9. In "The Lame Shall Enter First," how is Rufus' view of the night sky different than Sheppard's?

10. Describe O.T. & E.T. Greenleaf from "Greenleaf."

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

"Everything That Rises Must Converge" is both the title of this collection of short stories and one of the component stories. In your essay:

1) explain what this phrase means as it relates to the novel as a whole;

2) explain how the phrase fits the entire novel;

3) demonstrate how the author develops this idea.

Be sure to use specific examples from the stories to support your ideas.

Essay Topic 2

Imagine if one of the stories in this collection was missing from it. Choose one of the stories and "remove" it from the collection. Write an essay:

1) explaining the role that the story plays in the collection;

2) describing how the collection would be different without the story;

3) comment on the quality of the novel without the story--would it be better or worse? Why?

Be sure to use specific examples from the stories to support your ideas.

Essay Topic 3

One of the themes in the collection of short stories "Everything That Rises Must Converge" is morality. Select three of the stories dealing with this theme and:

1) explain what the story says about morality;

2) demonstrate how the theme is developed in the story.

Then explain what you think Flannery O'Connor's overall commentary on morality is in the novel as a whole.

Be sure to use specific examples from the stories to support your ideas.

(see the answer keys)

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