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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. Where are the soldiers from John's outfit being questioned in Chapter 16, "Evidence"?

2. How would you describe Eleanor Wade's contributions to Chapter 2?

3. Where is John in Chapter 13, "The Nature of the Beast"?

4. What was John like in the beginning of his relationship with Kathy?

5. What does Kathy suspect John of when he joins the military?

Short Essay Questions

1. What sources does the narrator use, to piece together the story?

2. Why did John join the military?

3. What happens shortly after John got this letter from Kathy?

4. How does the narrator describe Kathy's feelings in the hypothesis in Chapter 9?

5. What indication does the book give us about what really happened?

6. What do we learn about John's character from the evidence and narrative?

7. Where does the narrator says that Kathy might have gone in his hypothesis in Chapter 9?

8. Describe the importance of the abortion Kathy had.

9. What is Claude Rasmussen's opinion about what happened?

10. What was John's experience of Vietnam like, and what did Weatherby have to do with his experience?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Is Lake of the Woods a uniquely American book? What makes it American, or in what way is it something else? Is it international or supra-national?

Essay Topic 2

What is Tim O'Brien doing with the form of the novel by refusing to answer the question of Kathy's disappearance? How is 'In the Lake of the Woods' different from the 'typical' novel? What is the benefit of that difference? What are the drawbacks?

Essay Topic 3

Evaluate your own reading of In the Lake of the Woods--did you resist it, or were you compelled by the story? What does your reading tell you about yourself and your interests? Use specific examples from the book to describe yourself as a reader.

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