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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 did Jesus Fever's granddaughter's first husband do to her in a rage on the first night of their marriage?

2. What is shouted to the Lord during the religious service?

3. What does the eccentric hermit that Joel meets delivering to Zoo in Chapter 5?

4. What room are Joel and the others in after dinner?

5. What is Joel's middle name?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Joel ask God for at the end of the prayer service?

2. What is the nature of Joel and Florabel's conversation in Chapter 5?

3. What does Amy tell Joel regarding the history of his bedroom?

4. What is the nature of Joel's letter to his Aunt Ellen?

5. What is the nature of Joel and Idabel's interaction at the beginning of Chapter 7?

6. How are Zoo and Jesus Fever described at the beginning of the prayer service?

7. What does Randolph do towards Joel while Amy plays the pianola?

8. What does Joel believe led to his mother's death?

9. How does Idabel describe a tombstone that reads "Toby, killed by the cat" to Joel?

10. How does Randolph describe his life with Dolores after they fall in love?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The notion of superstition is one that is frequently brought up in the book and plays a role in Joel's life at the Landing.

Part 1.) What can the reader learn about the importance of superstition in the local culture based on characters like Little Sunshine?

Part 2.) What symbolism can be found in the representation of superstitious practices and charms in the book?

Part 3.) How is the presence of superstition significant to Joel's journey from normalcy to bizarre in the book?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the author's portrayal of love through the book's characters. What means does Joel resort to when seeking love in the book, and what role might this have on his strange bond developed with Randolph?

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast the characters Florabel and Idabel in the book. How might the author purposefully make Florabel overtly feminine in order to offset the masculine nature of Idabel?

(see the answer keys)

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