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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. Who does Barry finally realize Will was after?

2. Where is Maggie's benefit concert to be held?

3. Who does Will run into after hours at the Lake Club?

4. What bothers Will the most?

5. Who was Will with the night before his wedding?

Short Essay Questions

1. What two things does Maggie refuse to do to help herself and her defense team?

2. What event almost ruins Maggie's wedding to Will?

3. What effect does this information have on Maggie's conviction?

4. How does Maggie feel when she is taken in front of the judge to deliver her plea?

5. How does Will finally manage to conspire to meet Maggie again?

6. What irritated Will the most about life?

7. What does Norma finally get the groundskeeper from the Lake Club to admit?

8. What is the first scene that Will is asked to play in Primrose?

9. What happens on the night that Maggie shoots Will Shepherd?

10. What does Peter say on the stand that he hopes will hang Maggie?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Rejection is difficult for many people to cope with, but it is particularly difficult for Will in this story. Why might he be more sensitive to the issue of rejection than someone else under similar circumstances? How far back can this problem be traced in Will's life? What is the root cause of his attitude towards rejection and who was directly responsible? Could this character flaw have been avoided even with his circumstances with both parents? If so, how, and if not, why not?

Essay Topic 2

In this novel, Will exhibits an instinct for luring in women by telling them what they want or need to hear in order to get them into bed. How do instincts play a role in human beings where their survival is concerned? What instinctive quality do we all have that enables us to survive? What conditions might cause us to ignore this instinct? Under what conditions might you ignore a survival instinct?

Essay Topic 3

Evil is evident in this novel on several layers. What evil is openly displayed and by which character or characters? What are some examples of more subtle evil? Which characters displayed these qualities? How does evil come into being? Are we born with it, or are the circumstances of our lives what make us become evil? What kinds of circumstances might make a person evil who did not start out that way?

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