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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 does McKinley think is the father of Lena's baby?

2. Why had Hightower originally come to town?

3. Why do the townspeople think Joe Christmas has committed the murder of Miss Burden?

4. Where is Christmas headed with his three friends?

5. Why is Joe ashamed when he places an order for pie and coffee?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why has Lena left her home in Alabama?

2. What is Christmas' final act of naivete regarding Bobbie?

3. What revelations does Brown share when he shows up in town after the murder?

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

5. Why is Bobbie attracted to Christmas?

6. Why does Christmas know that something is going to happen to him on this night?

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

8. Why does Byron Bunch spend so much time at his job at the planing mill?

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

10. Two men give Lena a ride in their wagon but one of them is especially concerned about what people might say. What misgivings do the men have about the situation?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Faulkner compares Joe Christmas to Jesus Christ which is a popular literary technique in Faulkner's time. Identify the ways in which Christmas and Christ have similarities. Do you think this is blasphemous? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Why does Christmas have trouble accepting kindnesses, especially from women? What role, if any, do the dietitician, Mrs. McEachern and Miss Burden play in his inability to receive kindness?

Essay Topic 3

Racism is a major theme in the book and is Joe Christmas' main source of personal angst. Why does Christmas not just claim to be a white man to make his life easier? Why does he persist in declaring his partial black blood which only creates more problems for him?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 753 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample