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. After his essay in Part I, Chapter 13, whom does Samuel Gatewood try to convince to stop running away?

2. What does Alexander Kirkpatrick's wife pray for because it sometimes slows the number of wounded arriving at the hospital?

3. Where is Alexander Kirkpatrick's wife sent to work after she is released from jail?

4. Why does Alexander demand that he be treated as a prisoner of war while in prison?

5. What does a Confederate solider tell Rufus and Jesse before shooting Rufus in the chest?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Uther Botkin obtain his property that he now lives on?

2. Why does one of the surgeons, James Lane, ask that all the Union soldiers be taken to another surgeon for the rest of the evening?

3. While Sallie is working at the hospital, what does a young soldier ask Sallie to do for him?

4. How do Rufus and Jesse escape Stratford Plantation?

5. What is Jesse's new job in Part III, Chapter 31, at the hospital?

6. While attending church, what does Opal beg Jack to do for her?

7. What does a superior officer say to Duncan and his fellow cadets after they rush to get their weapons and regain their honor when the Union cadets pick a fight with them?

8. What happens the third time that Jesse tries to run away from the Stratford Plantation?

9. What happens to Uther Botkin's wife, Martha?

10. What was Miss Marguerite's name in 1857?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Many of the characters in "Jacob's Ladder" have been going through tremendous changes in their lives since the war has begun. Explore the theme of coming of age, and analyze the changes in the different characters.

Part A) What does coming of age mean?

Part B) How can a catastrophic event like the Civil War cause tremendous changes in people?

Part C) How have some of the characters ideals and goals changed? What have the characters learned about themselves and life?

Essay Topic 2

The war has caused tremendous changes not only in the characters but also in society. Each character deals with these changes in a different way. Analyze the theme of change in the novel, particularly how it pertains to society. How have these changes affected the characters? What changes have been for the better? What changes have been for the worse? Does something as catastrophic as war need to happen to bring about great change?

Essay Topic 3

Description is the fiction-writing mode for creating a mental image of a story. Examine the use of description in "Jacob's Ladder: A Story of Virginia During the War". How does the author graphically describe life in Virginia during slavery and the Civil War? How are the characters described? How does the author use dialogue, imagery, and even sentence structure to help describe?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 874 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample