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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. Who has died in Part IV, Chapter 60, that the grandmother continually prayers about?

2. What is the name of Catesby's daughter?

3. At the beginning of Part III, Chapter 37, who are washing the corpse of Uther Botkin?

4. What are the names of Marguerite's servants, who were former slaves?

5. What does Catesby's daughter say her mother spends her time doing now that her father is dead?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the girl that is interviewing Marguerite tell her she is getting continual pressure to do in Part III, Chapter 39?

2. What does Sallie realize about her Cousin Molly's attitude in Part IV, Chapter 50?

3. What does Jesse learn that the surgeon name Potts has done that upsets him?

4. What happens when Duncan meets Confederate President Davis at an event he attends with Sallie?

5. How does Catesby die after the battle in Spotsylvania?

6. What happens to Jesse and the other black soldiers who are captured by the Confederates after a battle?

7. What do Marguerite's grown children tell the girl who has been interviewing her at the birthday party?

8. After pulling over the Danzinger family's buggy, what do the renegades order Alexander to do after they question Seth about being a spy?

9. What happens to the young Union soldier who stumbles into the camp of Alexander and the other renegades in Part IV, Chapter 54?

10. How do Jesse's men react after he reads them the Gettysburg Address?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Duncan and Midge have a tumultuous relationship, which is a very important conflict in "Jacob's Ladder". Analyze Midge and Duncan's relationship and its overall effect on the story. Where are they from? How did they meet? What do they look like? How do they feel about each other? Do they trust each other?

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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