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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. How does Christmas escape the McEachern house one night?

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

3. What is in the six metal tins which Christmas digs up in a nearby ditch?

4. What does Christmas announce to everyone present?

5. Why does Christmas decide to sleep in the stables instead of the cabin?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does trouble find Byron anyway?

2. Why does Byron regret telling Lena that the man in town named Joe Brown is the man she knows as Lucas Burch?

3. How does the dietician attempt to thwart disaster in the toothpaste incident?

4. Why do the townspeople believe that the former Reverend Hightower's wife had disgraced him?

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

6. Why does the fourteen-year-old Christmas beat the Negro girl instead of having sex with her like the other boys do?

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

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

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

10. Why has Lena left her home in Alabama?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Faulkner is a master at literary devices. Choose three examples of symbolism, metaphors, etc., and briefly describe them and identify the technique which they embody.

Essay Topic 3

Faith is an important theme in the novel. Give examples of faith from the book that exemplify what is expected of people of faith as well as some examples of behavior which is counter to those with supposed religious beliefs. What points is Faulkner trying to make by pointing out the disparity in beliefs and actions?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 830 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample