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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 Silas promise to Marguerite before he leaves to become a solider in the Confederate Army?

2. What is the name of Duncan's childhood servant who used to light the fire in his room?

3. What is the name of Silas's ship that he is awaiting the arrival of in Part IV, Chapter 53?

4. After one of her servants leaves her on the road, what does Marguerite use to carry a small ham and some other small belongings?

5. What holiday are Catesby and his fellow soldiers celebrating that they attend a prayer meeting?

Short Essay Questions

1. After telling his wife, Leona, in a letter that he has become a Christian, what does Catesby urge his wife, Leona, to do?

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

3. Why have the renegades stopped the Danzinger family and Alexander's buggy in Part IV, Chapter 44?

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

5. Duncan runs into Midge, now Marguerite Omohundru, at an event, what do they talk about in their private conversation?

6. What do the Union soldiers take when they stop Marguerite and her servants on the road as they leave Wilmington?

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

8. How does Jesse describe Abraham Lincoln after he sees him coming down the road in Part IV, Chapter 52?

9. What does Silas tell his crew before he leaves to Richmond in Part IV, Chapter 57?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The novel "Jacob's Ladder: A Story of Virginia During the War", is a novel centered around the Civil War. Research and study the Civil War and how it began. How did the Civil War start? What state was the first to secede? What did the soldiers who were in the Civil War have to endure? Why did the Civil War start? How did the soldiers feel at the beginning of the Civil War? Who was the president during the Civil War, for both sides, Union and Confederate?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

Marguerite tells many stories of several different characters throughout the story. This is a literary device that writers use called a story-within-a-story. Explore the author's use of the literary device story-within-a-story in the novel "Jacob's Ladder". Is the author using stories-within-a-story to give it a more historical feel? Or is the author using stories-within-a-story to give background about particular characters or events? How is this literary device effective in the novel "Jacob's Ladder"?

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