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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 Roy feel about Bump Bailey?
2. What warning does Red give Roy that he ignores?
3. How does Pop react to the almost magical quality of Roy's Wonderboy during the first game in which Roy gets to hit?
4. What is the Judge's plans for the Knights?
5. Who is Gus Sands?
Short Essay Questions
1. When Memo comes to Roy's room she talks to him about money and how much it costs to start a good business. Why did she do that, and what else does she tell him?
2. Discuss the dreams of Roy and the failures he has experienced up to this point.
3. How does Iris feel about Roy when she meets him in person, and why?
4. Discuss the ways that The Judge is a hypocrite.
5. When she visits Roy in Boston, what excuse does Memo give for rejecting Roy during his earlier slump?
6. A lady in red appears to Roy, but it is not clear if it is in a dream or reality. The lady in red, whether a dream or not, points out something to the reader. What is that fact?
7. What did Pop tell Roy about the pennant game and his dreams?
8. What did Iris tell Roy in her letter, and what was his reaction to it?
9. When Roy goes to see a fortune teller when he is in his big slump, she tells him he will meet a beautiful brunette. What is Roy's reaction?
10. Discuss the irony that Malamud uses in naming the characters Goodwill Banner and Max Mercy.
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Discuss The Natural as a novel of magical realism. Magical realism is when a realistic novel contains issues that are stranger than life, unreal, or appearing magical. What purpose do instances of magical realism appear to serve in this novel? Give examples from the novel.
Essay Topic 2
Malamud tells us that sometimes when Hobbs watched the baseball come to him before hitting it, he thought it looked like all circles, and he didn't like circles. He made the statement that circles just bring you back to the place you started from. Explain that theme from the novel, coming back to where you started. What examples from the novel illustrate that theme?
Essay Topic 3
There is a tremendous amount of symbolism in Malamud's novel. Discuss two forms of symbolism and show how they develop the theme over the course of the novel. Answer the question of why Malamud might have chosen that symbol over other possible ones and whether he was effective in developing the theme. Give examples from the novel to support your ideas.
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This section contains 1,160 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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