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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How does Bliss remember himself, in flashbacks, while he was with Laly?
(a) Confused.
(b) Gentle.
(c) Angry.
(d) Violent.

2. What item does the young senator demand be in the coffin with him?
(a) His nightlight.
(b) His favorite blanket.
(c) His teddy bear.
(d) He demands nothing at all, not even a pillow.

3. What does the senator suggest Reverend Hickman might have otherwise done with his life?
(a) Been a chef.
(b) Been a playwright.
(c) Been a trumpet player.
(d) Been a guitarist.

4. How does Bliss remember feeling inside of the tiny coffin during the large Juneteenth revival?
(a) Tired and bored.
(b) Eager and excited.
(c) Happy and content.
(d) Panicked and fearful.

5. What color lining does Bliss's coffin (used during the large Juneteenth revival) have?
(a) Pink.
(b) Baby blue.
(c) Red.
(d) Black.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Hickman preach will happen if you keep putting one and one together?

2. Where does Hickman's group go after the assassination?

3. What color Bible does the young senator hold when he comes out of the coffin during revivals as a child?

4. When Senator Sunraider wakes up after being attacked, what is the first thing he sees?

5. According to Donelson, why does Bliss travel so lightly?

Short Essay Questions

1. How much of their losses are Laly and the townspeople able to recover once they discover that Bliss, Donelson, and Karp are frauds?

2. What moves Sister Georgia in particular about Bliss's life?

3. What great hope does Reverend Hickman continue to cling to for Senator Sunraider, even as he lay dying?

4. As a boy, what did Bliss call Reverend Hickman?

5. Who does the young boy in the senator's final hallucination represent?

6. What does Senator Sunraider see after he has been shot?

7. What does Bliss's obsession with the image of the movie actress symbolize?

8. In the final chapter of the novel, how is it clear that the senator is in a hallucinatory state?

9. What advice does the reverend give Bliss about shadows and light?

10. What analogies does Reverend Hickman use to explain the two extremes of the nature of men as Senator Sunraider lay dying in his hospital bed?

(see the answer keys)

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