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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. When did Tim Cullen realize that Janesville needed to diversify and not depend only on GM as an employer?

2. How many inches of snow is on the ground in the Prologue?

3. How old was Ken Hendricks when he died?

4. When is Matt Wopat's last day at the GM plant?

5. In Part 2, where did John Beckord live before coming to Janesville?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does John Beckord ask Mary Willmer to do in Part 2, Chapter 10?

2. Who was Edward B. Montgomery, and why did he not bring help to Janesville?

3. How did Kristi Beyer spend her time in Part 2, Chapter 16?

4. What happened to GM workers who did not take a buyout in Part 3, Chapter 21?

5. Why was it difficult for Mike Vaughn to decide to study human resources?

6. How did Linda Korban begin working at Parker Pen?

7. What was Mary Willmer's life like growing up?

8. What was Marv Wopat's career like at GM?

9. Who had first seen the need to diversify in Janesville?

10. What jobs did Matt Wopat work before he started working for GM?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Colors are sometimes associated with mood. If you could assign a color to represent the mood of the novel, what color would it be? Why? Would you choose different colors to describe the mood in different parts of the book?

Essay Topic 2

Some parts of Janesville were doing well and others were not by the fifth year after the GM plant closed. Why were there two Janesvilles at that time? What characterized differences between the two Janesvilles? What did the fact that there were two Janesvilles reveal about the recession?

Essay Topic 3

Under what circumstances was SHINE considering making Janesville its headquarters? What were the pros and cons of the arrangement? Why did the city council decide to offer an economic package to lure SHINE to Janesville?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 840 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample