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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 Katrina say will cure all Francis’ troubles?

2. What explanation does Annie give Francis, for why she never said anything about him dropping Gerald?

3. How did Helen’s father die?

4. What does Katrina tell Francis her poet sees?

5. What did Francis’ mother announce at Thanksgiving dinner after Francis was married?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Francis describe having met Helen when he was younger?

2. How does Helen feel about her life, when she is summing it up as she dies?

3. How does the narrative change in Chapter 5?

4. Why does Helen say that she and Francis could not marry?

5. How does Francis characterize the difference between Annie’s kiss and Katrina’s?

6. How did Helen’s mother and brother cheat her?

7. What peace does Francis establish with the ghosts who have been following him?

8. Why is Helen angry with Francis, when she thinks about him in the hotel?

9. Describe Annie’s greeting when Francis arrives at her house.

10. What prompts Francis to get down from Rosskam’s wagon and quit for the day?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

When is Ironweed most itself? What is its characteristic passage, or moment? What makes that moment or passage the most representative of the book as a whole? Are there any places where the book seems to depart from its typical self, as if to become a different book?

Essay Topic 2

What is missing from this book? What should have been covered or presented that was not? What is the effect of this absence? Describe an element that ought to have been covered, and explain why it would have made the book stronger.

Essay Topic 3

Evaluate your own reading of Ironweed—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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This section contains 1,072 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample