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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 happens to Sarah in the hospital?

2. What is the first response to the police from the museum?

3. Who shows up driving a new Model-T in front of The Boy's house?

4. How do Father and Mother sometimes travel down the boardwalk in Atlantic City?

5. What happens to Coalhouse after he comes out of the museum with his hands raised?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is keeping Father busy that summer?

2. What happens to Sarah at the rally?

3. How have the fortunes of Tateh and The girl changed?

4. What remarkable innovation in manufacturing took place about this time?

5. How does Mother's and Father's relationship change in Atlantic City?

6. What causes the theater to shake where Houdini is performing?

7. After Coalhouse arranges for his gang to escape, what happens to him?

8. What is the beginning of the trouble with Coalhouse Walker?

9. What brings Younger Brother back to life after his breakup with Evelyn?

10. What is Younger Brother's first act as a revolutionary and outlaw?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Look up information on Henry Ford and the assembly line production of Model-T cars and write a brief paper. What did Ford's assembly line have to do with Coalhouse Walker's ability to own a brand new Model-T? What does Coalhouse's car symbolize to the men at Emerald Isle Fire Station? Does ownership of the car give Coalhouse an air of superiority? Analyze how the car might have affected Father who never really liked Coalhouse. When Father and The Boy go into New York to the Giants game, they take the train. Even though he can afford a car, why does the family not seem to have one?

Essay Topic 2

Write a paper on racial discrimination in the North at the turn of the century. The commonly held belief is that racial discrimination is exclusive to the South. The story of RAGTIME takes place in New York, Philadelphia, New England, and Atlantic City. Point out the many examples Doctorow gives of discrimination against blacks and Jews in the novel.

Essay Topic 3

Coalhouse Walker, Jr., plays Scott Joplin ragtime in the novel. Do some research and write a brief paper about the composer Scott Joplin. Why does Doctorow use the musical genre as the title of his book? To what extent do you think the music of an era defines that era?

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This section contains 650 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample