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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 Rabbit pointedly describe his marriage to Janice when speaking with Eccles?

2. What is Ruth reading when Harry returns to her apartment?

3. Which of the following is not a person that Ruth mentions at the pool when explaining why Harry thinks he has it good?

4. Of what city was Eccles' grandfather Bishop?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Harry realize about Tothero as they leave the Sunshine gym?

2. How does Harry find out that his child has died?

3. How does Ruth make fun of Harry regarding Chinese food?

4. What obstacles does Rabbit face trying to retrieve his clothes?

5. How is Janice's attitude toward Rabbit conflicted at this point?

6. Describe the argument Harry has with Ruth about her going to the bathroom.

7. Why is Ruth sick and nervous of late?

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

9. Describe Tothero's living arrangements.

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Children play a strange and ambiguous part in RABBIT, RUN. They represent a primal state, one that needs and hurts in equal measure. Write an essay on the role of children in the novel, divided into three parts:

Part 1) In Harry's absence, Nelson plays with Billy Fosnacht at Mrs. Springer's house. How do the boys interact? What regulatory role does Mrs. Springer play in this situation, and how does this reflect an attitude toward children that no longer exists?

Part 2) What is Lucy Eccles' attitude toward children? How is it informed by her strict adherence to Freud? How does it place her into constant conflict with her husband?

Part 3) What role does Rebecca Angstrom play in the world of the novel? Does she bring the Angstroms together, tear them apart, or both?

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

Updike spends quite a bit of time in the novel dealing with the mechanics and politics of sexual intercourse. Write an essay comparing his two extended sex scenes: Harry's first night with Ruth Leonard, and Harry's aborted attempt to have sex with Janice after she gives birth. What does Harry want in these scenes? What do the women want? How does each participant try to gain the upper hand? What is Updike saying about the nature of inter-gender communication?

(see the answer keys)

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