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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 role does the corporation perform for the Foundation?

2. What is the topic of the Senator's speech in the Senate Chamber before his election?

3. In his first letter to Sylvia, what does Eliot say he has in common with the person he compares himself to ?

4. When Sylvia and Eliot move to Rosewater, what is to the west of the Parthenon?

5. What does Eliot call Sylvia in his letter to her from Iowa?

Short Essay Questions

1. Eliot writes letters to Sylvia during his travels, one from a fire station in New Vienna, Iowa. What does he explain he has suggested to the fire department in that small town? How do they react? How does Sylvia react after receiving the letter?

2. Eliot had an experience in WWII that changed his life forever. What was that experience, and how does it affect his life after he leaves the service?

3. In Chapter Three, Eliot begins talking to people in front of a firehouse in Vashti, Texas. What does he identify as the main purpose of the Armed Forces in America?

4. Eliot keeps a ledger in his office in which he keeps important information about his work. What does he call his ledger, and what kinds of things are in it? What is an example of something Eliot would have in his ledger?

5. Who is Eliot Rosewater? What do we learn about him in the first chapter of the novel?

6. While they are talking, Sylvia reveals things about Eliot that the Senator has not known. What is one of the things Sylvia tells him?

7. Who is Arthur Garvey Ulm? What part does he play in the story of Eliot and Sylvia's life?

8. Who is listening on the other end of the conversation between Eliot and Sylvia? What does the person learn from the conversation to aid in the case to have Eliot declared insane?

9. When Eliot finally enters psychoanalysis, what changes does he make? How long is he in treatment? Why does the psychoanalysis end?

10. When he disappears for a week, what does Eliot do? Why does the law firm of McAlister, Robjent, Reed, and McGee hire a detective to find Eliot, and where does he find Eliot?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

McAllister tells Stewart Buntline "giving away a fortune is a futile and destructive thing." Stewart Buntline chooses not to give his fortune away; Eliot Rosewater takes another course. Compare and contrast these two men, their backgrounds and their adult lives.

Essay Topic 2

At lunch at The Weir, Amanita tells Caroline upon giving her a gift "people get what they deserve." Discuss this quote and how it applies to the main characters of the story.

Essay Topic 3

After Sylvia leaves, Eliot lives in his office in Rosewater. Describe the office in which Eliot lives. What does he do for a living? What slogan does Eliot have painted on his windows? What does the slogan mean?

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