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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 do the police tell Frank when they call just before the boys are about to leave for Ariel's visitation service?

2. Why do Ruth and Emil stop spending time together?

3. What reason do Julia and Axel give for cutting themselves off from the Drums as of late?

4. Which two members of the Drum family refuse to attend church on the Sunday following Ariel's death?

5. What plan does Frank have in order to find out what is happening between Nathan and Ruth when Nathan goes to fetch her from Emil's house?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Frank so surprised to see Ruth and Gus sitting together at the kitchen table when he and the rest of the family return from Sibley Park?

2. What secret does Karl finally reveal to Nathan that makes it fairly clear that he had no hand in Ariel's murder?

3. How does Warren Redstone play a role in the altercation between Frank and Morris Engdahl?

4. Why is Frank initially not very worried about Ariel when she does not return home the night of the Fourth of July?

5. In what ways are the complicated nature of the grief cycle demonstrated to the reader through the experiences of Frank and Jake?

6. What timeline does Karl present when he is questioned by the police?

7. What elements of family life at the Drums' home drive Ruth to leave the family to stay elsewhere for a while?

8. What is the significance of how Frank spends the money he has been saving up from the yard work he does for his grandfather?

9. What news does Gus bring to Ruth while Nathan is at the funeral home making arrangements for Ariel's funeral?

10. Besides the sheriff's mention of Morris Engdahl, what happens to prompt Frank to tell the sheriff about Morris Engdahl's dislike of Ariel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Eavesdropping is a motif used throughout the novel. Examine at least three instances of eavesdropping within the narrative. Analyze each instance and provide a specific claim about the ways in which the author uses eavesdropping in order to affect the novel's message.

Essay Topic 2

Vices often play a role in the narrative, with some characters engaging in drinking, smoking, and gambling, among other activities often considered immoral, or at least troublesome. How does the author use characters' vices in contrast with the themes of faith and innocence within the novel?

Essay Topic 3

Within the epilogue, Frank states there "there is no such thing as a true event" (306). What does he mean and how do these words fit into the context of the novel's overarching themes?

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