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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. What does Byron Bunch tell Hightower he is going to do with the cabin on Miss Burden's property?

2. What does Christmas trade a black woman for when he is on the run?

3. Of what does Hightower think his mother died?

4. What does Hightower's grandfather wear during the Civil War?

5. Where does Christmas go when he escapes from jail and where he is eventually killed?

Short Essay Questions

1. As Christmas runs to avoid the law, he stops at a cabin and trades shoes with a Negro woman. What is the significance of the traded shoes?

2. Why does Byron force an encounter with Brown after Brown flees from Lena in the cabin?

3. What does Hightower mean when he says the fading afternoon light is audible?

4. Why does Christmas feel he will be safe at Miss Burden's place?

5. Why does Percy Grimm castrate Christmas while he is still alive?

6. Why does Christmas refuse to marry Miss Burden and raise a family?

7. Why do the Negroes of Mottstown support Mr. Hines who preaches white supremacy in Negro churches?

8. Explain this statement made by Christmas: "Whether they are seventeen or fortyseven, when they finally come to surrender completely, it's going to be in words."

9. How does Faulkner show that women are more realistic and more forgiving in this chapter?

10. The cries of Lena's newborn child are significant for Byron. Why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain Faulkner's use of symbolism and imagery in the book as related to the topic of light. What does the light in August represent? Which characters are especially affected by this light and what does it mean to them?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

Does Faulkner end the novel on a note of hope or the continuance of the futility of man's struggle to understand his existence? Explain

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