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

2. According to the Senator, what is the difference between pornography and art?

3. What does Eliot use as a kitchen in his office in Rosewater?

4. What does Eliot tell Sylvia about the fire department he has found in Iowa?

5. What runs through the Parthenon in the middle of the town of Rosewater?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How did the people of Avondale greet Sylvia and Eliot when they move to Rosewater? Why do they treat them this way?

3. 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?

4. What does Eliot's letter to his heir reveal about his parents?

5. Eliot lives in his office. Describe the conditions in which Eliot lives. What are his surrounding like? Does he have many visitors? Does he leave the office regularly? What are some of the unusual qualities of the office?

6. 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?

7. Eliot receives a call from Diana Moon Glampers. Who is this woman? Why does she call Eliot in the middle of the night?

8. What does the law firm McAllister, Robjent, Reed, and McGee do for the Rosewater Foundation? What does Mushari learn while rifling through confidential files? What plan does he hatch based on his findings?

9. 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?

10. Where does Eliot end up after his roaming around America? What does he tell Sylvia he plans to do there, and how?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Eliot's analogy of the Money River. How does his analogy compare to society? Can anyone get ahead if there is indeed a Money River?

Essay Topic 2

There are two scenes that are high points in the novel: Eliot's argument with his father and his solution to the lawsuit he is facing. Which would you consider the climax of the novel and why?

Essay Topic 3

The narrator explains in the opening of the story that one of the main characters in the novel is money. Describe that character and it's function in the story.

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