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This test consists of 5 short answer questions and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who does Lantier get to know after he left hiding?

2. What promise to Etienne does Chaval break?

3. What do the miners do at the entrance to the mine?

4. What do the Montsou miners do at the Mirou pit?

5. What does Maheu ask of Hennebeau?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The army is now occupying Montsou, which means that the miners are powerless, a situation which fuels even more ambivalent anger.

1. How do you think powerlessness engenders anger?

2. What are alternatives to anger to deal with powerlessness?

3. Do you believe the anger seen in some civil rights groups in the 1960s in America stemmed from feeling powerless? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

There seems to be a huge gap between the rich and poor in this novel.

1. How is this difference shown in the book?

2. Do you see this gap existing in America today? Why or why not?

3. Do you see any morality issue with the gap between the very rich and the very poor?

Use examples to illustrate your answer.

Essay Topic 3

By befriending a soldier, Lantier discovers he (Lantier) is not that different from the people against whom he is fighting. Both men share hopes, dreams and memories; both wish for the same kind of life and in the end, they can only be differentiated by the master they serve.

1. Do you think this statement could be true in any situation where one person or group of persons consider another an enemy? Use an example from the text and from life now in the United States to illustrate this statement.

2. If two enemies were placed in a room and had to stay together for one month without fighting do you think they would be enemies at the end of that month? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 371 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample