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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 happens between Eliot and his father in Eliot's apartment?

2. Where is Selena Deal raised?

3. What did Eliot see on the copy of The American Investigator he found in his pocket?

4. Who does Lila find asleep on the couch in the study every day when she comes home?

5. What does Fred tell Caroline is above the door of the National Archives in Washington?

Short Essay Questions

1. In the end, Eliot outsmarts Mushari and others who think he is idealistic and insane. How does he do this?

2. Harry Pena and his sons are on a fishing boat which is visible from the dining room of The Weir. What do customers see from the vantage point of their windows? What does Harry do about this situation?

3. Eliot's father arrives at his office on the morning of his departure, and it is a complete surprise to Eliot. Eliot is happy to see his father, but the feelings are not mutual. Why has the Senator come to see his son? What happens during their visit?

4. What book does Eliot keep hidden in his office, and why does he have such strong feelings about it?

5. During his father's visit, Eliot takes a call from someone in the town. What do the two of them discuss while his father is there listening?

6. Describe Caroline Rosewater's luncheon experience at the Weir. How is she treated? How does she feel?

7. When Fred cannot finish the history of his family, which he has found atop the cupboard in the basement, he prepares to hang himself from a pipe in the basement. What happens to save Fred's life?

8. Caroline Rosewater and Amanita Buntline are two women from totally different parts of Pisquontuit. Why are Caroline and Amanita friends?

9. While he is looking at the books in the news store with Lila, Fred comes across a book that interests him. What is the book and what is it about?

10. Norman Mushari is very concerned about the planned meeting between Sylvia and Eliot before their divorce. Why does he care about them seeing each other? What detail does Musahri's plan rest upon that could be altered by the meeting?

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

One theme in literature is the relationship between good and evil and how it affects the characters in the novel. Discuss the powers of good and evil in this novel in both plot and character development.

Essay Topic 3

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?

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