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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 truth is revealed about the Brotherhood in Chapter 22?

2. When has the narrator made most of his mistakes?

3. What does Westrum use as evidence that the narrator is only trying to promote himself?

4. What time of day does Brother Jack meet the narrator in the beginning of Chapter 17

5. What do the elderly couple want to do that the marshals deny them?

Short Essay Questions

1. What epiphany has the narrator experienced regarding his race?

2. Why is the narrator's work on the "woman question" cut short?

3. The narrator says that he has learned that the lack of surprise is a warning. What does he mean?

4. How does Emma's conversation create a sense of foreboding?

5. How do we know at this point that the lobotomy has not been completely successful in changing the narrator's personality?

6. What was the narrator's real problem, and how has he settled it?

7. What is the significance of the black thread that controls the dancing doll?

8. Why does Jack become angry with the man who asks the narrator to sing a "spiritual"?

9. How does the narrator really feel about the gift of the chain from Brother Tarp?

10. Why do Dupre and his men choose a particular building to burn?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Early in the novel, the graduating black boys are deliberately used as cruel sport for the white men at a club. Norton is at the club with all the other white men. Norton does not care about the black boys any more than anyone else does. Therefore, what is his purpose at the college? Explain the things that Mr. Norton and Brother Jack have in common.

Essay Topic 2

What does the narrator mean when he talks about "existing outside of history"? Where does he envision himself by the end of the story? Since he never tells us his name, has he ultimately clarified or further obscured his self-discovery and identity?

Essay Topic 3

Explain why the Brotherhood chooses the narrator. What factors have made him particularly vulnerable to their approach? How do his own intentions change as he begins working with them?

(see the answer keys)

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