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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 major news is Ruth scared to tell Harry in this section?

2. Who does Harry think Lucy Eccles is when he arrives at her house?

3. What are Tothero's shelves made of?

4. How many children do the Eccleses have?

5. On what street does Rabbit live on in Mt. Judge?

Short Essay Questions

1. What excuse does Janice make to her father regarding Harry?

2. Why is Joyce Eccles afraid?

3. What has Harry decided about God by the end of the novel?

4. What non-Christian statement does Mrs. Smith regret making?

5. How is Mrs. Springer's greeting to Harry different from everyone else's?

6. Why does Ruth insist that Rabbit has it made in life?

7. What disagreement do Harry and Ruth have regarding religion?

8. Describe Janice Angstrom.

9. Why does Harry leave Janice at the end of this section?

10. Describe Ruth's high school relationship with Harrison.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Jack Eccles is one of the more dynamic figures in the novel. He represents a new attitude toward religion and its place in a modern world. Write an essay about Jack Eccles and his struggle with both the extremely traditional view of his vocation (as represented by Reverend Kruppenbach) and the secular modernist view (as represented by his wife). How does Eccles' relationship with Harry make manifest this inner struggle to understand his own faith?

Essay Topic 2

The world of RABBIT, RUN is one in which the past and present become intermingled. Harry constantly looks to the past for inspiration and comfort. Other people look back with a certain sadness. Write an essay about the past's role in the novel:

Part 1) How do Harry and Janice look back on the beginning of their relationship with a mixture of yearning and disdain? What did each expect from the relationship? How did the birth of Nelson change things?

Part 2) What is the high point of Harry Angstrom's life? What memory from this high water mark does he repeatedly recall throughout the novel? What does this memory do for him?

Part 3) What specific episodes from Ruth's past does she recall as she lays by the swimming pool with Harry? How do these memories inform her expectations from Harry? What does she expect and fear?

Essay Topic 3

Harry Angstrom is a classic American man-child, a grown figure who has not been able to develop emotionally past his adolescence. Write an essay about the stunted development of Harry, focusing on his relationship to those older than him and to women. Who does he look to for guidance, and how does he expect it to be given? What is his attitude toward sex and fidelity?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 970 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample