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. What is Francis’ response to Katrina’s scar?

2. How did Katrina die?

3. What does Francis say kept him sane?

4. How does Rosskam demonstrate his strength?

5. Whose kidnapping did Francis’ son Billy get mixed up in?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Helen’s father’s death change her life?

2. Describe the vision Francis sees at Colonie Street.

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

4. How does the narrative change in Chapter 5?

5. What does Francis buy from Rosskam, and what is its significance?

6. What kind of peace does Francis make with Annie?

7. Describe Rosskam and his environment.

8. How do Francis’ kids react to seeing him?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the genre of Ironweed? What type of story is it, and how does it resist categorization? What kinds of evidence does William Kennedy give you, as a reader, for placing the novel in a genre category? Using examples from the text, make an argument for what category of novel Ironweed belongs to.

Essay Topic 2

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

Essay Topic 3

Use this book as a meditation on the value of a five-star rating system. Is a five-star system sufficient to a book like this? Would you need to have sub-topics for the rating system, for plot, characterization, language, etc? What other sub-topics would you need? What value or importance gets lost in a five-star scale? Design a scale that would be better for this book.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 998 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample