View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does the narrator say Daddy Big Dugan died?

2. Where does Helen sleep?

3. What does Gerald hope Francis will do after making this visit?

4. How does Francis characterize Helen in bed?

5. What is the essence of Francis’ response when Rudy asks where they are going?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Reverend Chester’s policy about drunks, and what effect does it have?

2. What is the message of the song Helen sings to Francis?

3. How did Francis end up with a job shoveling dirt at the cemetery?

4. What does Jack say Francis could have if he got straight, and what is Francis’ response?

5. What misfortune besets Helen after she returns to the Mission with Francis and Rudy?

6. How did Francis come to see Aldo Campione die?

7. Describe the brotherhood Francis and Rudy share.

8. What does Francis’ conversation with Rudy tell us about his relationship with Helen?

9. How is Francis feeling at the beginning of the novel?

10. Describe the environment of the Gilded Cage.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Would you recommend Ironweed? For what purposes would you recommend Ironweed, and what kinds of readers would you recommend it for? What other book would you recommend that would cover the same material or tell the same story in a different way?

Essay Topic 2

Where is the climax of this book? Are there different climaxes? What questions does each climax resolve? What questions does each climax leave unanswered?

Essay Topic 3

Debate the proposition that Francis has redeemed his flight from home and family by turning flight into a philosophy.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 794 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample