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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. Why do the two men in the wagon, Armstid and Winterbottom, give Lena a ride?

2. Where do Christmas and Brown live?

3. What does Christmas do instead of having sex with the girl when it is his turn?

4. What does Hightower do to supplement his monthly inheritance since he lost his position at the church twenty-five years ago?

5. What happens when Mr. McEachern calls Bobbie a harlot?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is McEachern's death symbolic in this chapter?

2. Joe leaves the whorehouse and enters "the street which was to run for fifteen years." What is the significance of this statement?

3. What drives Lena to keep moving on her quest?

4. Why are the people of Jefferson not sure that Reverend Hightower is interested in them?

5. How does Christmas realize that racial prejudice is not as strong in the North as it is in the South?

6. How does trouble find Byron anyway?

7. Why has Lena left her home in Alabama?

8. How do the other men at the planing mill learn more about Christmas' background?

9. How do the people get their first indications that something is awry in the Hightower marriage?

10. The author uses the literary technique of a flashback at this point in the book. What purpose does this serve?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

A major theme in the book is the status and treatment of women in society. Why are women who step outside the boundaries of so-called proper behavior chastised and alienated by the men but accepted by the women? Why are the prominent men in the town especially anxious to get rid of Lena? Why do they not show any compassion for the young woman?

Essay Topic 2

Explain the mixed feelings Christmas must have when he trades the woman for the shoes of the black man and can feel his black blood manifesting itself in the physical world.

Essay Topic 3

The town of Jefferson seems to be filled with misfits. This is not uncommon in the Southern Gothic style of literature which Faulkner writes. Why do you think there are so many unusual or eccentric characters? Could the story be told with more average characters or is it necessary to populate the town with eccentrics? Explain in context with other Southern Gothic literature with which you may be familiar.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 811 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample