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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 does Gavin tell Charles never to stop doing?

2. Who did Crawford sell his lumber to?

3. Where did Vinson arrange to meet Lucas?

4. What age had Charles's mother sworn she would allow her son coffee?

5. Which one of the Gowrie clan is a draft dodger?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do Gavin and the Sheriff plan to catch Crawford?

2. Why do you think Charles is so enraged by the behavior of the crowd?

3. What is different between the blacks in the north and the black in the south?

4. Why is Charles so interested in why the black worker is plowing the field?

5. For what reason does Charles think Lucas was not lynched?

6. Why did Crawford kill Jake?

7. How does Aleck Sander show his bravery during the trip back from the cemetery?

8. Why does Charles hold such respect for Miss Habersham?

9. Who does the sheriff think the man is who passed Charles on the road to the cemetery?

10. What is Uncle Gavin's take on the civil rights struggle in the South?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the story Charles thinks he owes Lucas a favor and there are also many references to the southern gentlemen code. What is the southern gentlemen code? In what way does Faulkner present the southern gentlemen code as a backward and damaging tradition? In what ways do you think the characters and setting would lose and gain from the breakdown of the code?

Essay Topic 2

Faulkner uses southern dialect. What meaning do you think Faulkner's use of dialect brings to the novel? Do you think the dialect is accurate? Why do you think some authors choose to use dialect while others choose not to? Which method do you think is better?

Essay Topic 3

Look at the novel's characterization. How well drawn do you think Faulkner's characters are? Select one of the minor characters such as Mr. Gowrie and discuss how much you know about his background. In what ways does Faulkner provide the reader with information about that character?

(see the answer keys)

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