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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 accusation does the ghost of the first man Francis killed accuse Francis of?

2. What does Daddy Big say Francis’ son Billy did for him?

3. What brotherhood does the narrator say Francis and Rudy have between them?

4. Where does Francis say his mother probably is?

5. What does Helen say she was doing while Sandra was dying?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the narrator describe Gerald’s body in the grave?

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

3. How did Francis’ father die?

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

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

6. What price does Helen pay for sleeping in Finny’s car?

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

8. How did Francis end up killing Harold Allen?

9. Describe the brotherhood Francis and Rudy share.

10. What is the importance of Halloween in the book’s setting?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How would Ironweed be different if it were told from a woman’s point of view? How would Annie, or Helen or Clara or Sandra change the nature of the book, and reveal the world of bums that Francis Phelan lives in?

Essay Topic 2

The ending of the novel is ambiguous, but there are clues throughout the novel about whether it might be read optimistically or pessimistically. What indications does Kennedy give the reader about what to make of the ending? What conclusion do you come to about the conclusion?

Essay Topic 3

Ironweed takes place over three days: Halloween, All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. What is the role of these Catholic holidays in Ironweed? What do these holidays explain in the novel?

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