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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 is the name of Uther Botkin's daughter?

2. Who arrives at the hospital to visit Duncan and apologizes for his melancholy attitude?

3. What is the name of the horse that Duncan has had since he was a child?

4. Where does Catesby tell Samuel he should send someone to get his son who has been wounded in battle?

5. Who is Jesse?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Opal help Uther Botkin with his daughter and his farm?

2. What happens at the military institute, where Duncan is present to hear a speech, which causes a fight?

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

4. How much money is Silas going to sell Maggie for as incentive for Ellam to treat her with some respect until time for the sale?

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

6. What does the judge sentence Sallie and Alexander to for being abolitionists?

7. What happens to Duncan Gatewood when the storm, Cox's Snow, hits?

8. What does Catesby write to his wife Leona about from Camp Bartow, Virginia?

9. What happens to Duncan's horse, Gypsy, during the battle in Chancellorsville?

10. How is Alexander assigned to Duncan's regiment?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Throughout "Jacob's Ladder" there are families that grow, families that are torn apart, and families that stick together. Love is what binds these families together and the lack of love is often what tears them apart. Analyze the theme of family and love throughout the novel. How important is the theme of family in the novel? What examples from the book demonstrate how much Samuel's family means to him? What does family mean to Marguerite? Whom does she love?

Essay Topic 3

Many of the characters in "Jacob's Ladder" have an air of desperation about them and perform desperate acts. Examine the concept of desperation and discuss how it pertains to the characters in the novel. How could someone become desperate during times of war? What characters in the novel seem desperate at this point in the story? Who does not seem desperate? How can this desperation be brought on by some characters having to do uncharacteristic things?

(see the answer keys)

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