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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 new activity does Younger Brother take up?

2. What innovation of Henry Ford's was about to revolutionize American manufacturing?

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

4. What is Father worried about after the murders?

5. Who captures Mother's interest in Atlantic City?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Father decide to do to make up for the time he has not spent with The Boy?

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

3. What suddenly worries Sarah after the Fire House incident?

4. What becomes fashionable because of Morgan's obsession with Egyptology?

5. What is keeping Father busy that summer?

6. What happens to Sarah at the rally?

7. What becomes of Younger Brother?

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

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

10. What does Morgan think about making automobiles available to the masses?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

On their trip out of New York, Tateh observes a completely different country from what he had known in New York. Doctorow says that for the first time Tateh began to think he might be able to live in America. Use examples of what Tateh and The Girl see on their trip that are so different from anything they had ever seen in New York and explain how those sights began to change Tateh's outlook on America. Then look at Freud's visit to New York and what they force him to go see. Give your opinion as to whether Freud might have had a different opinion of America if he had seen the more rural side of the country.

Essay Topic 2

Write a paper explaining the difference between an anarchist and a socialist. These strange bedfellows come together in the meeting Tateh takes Evelyn to. Anarchists oppose any form of government and socialists promote total government control. Explain why Tateh did not agree with anarchism or communism. Why was he a socialist? Then decide if his later affluence changed his political ideas and why.

Essay Topic 3

Do some research and write a brief paper on J. Pierpont Morgan. Political cartoons of his time pictured Morgan as being bigger than Uncle Sam. In fact, he did bail out the U.S. economy at one time. There is even an undertone of racism in Morgan in the novel when he cables the D. A. to give Coalhouse his auto and hang him. From your research, explain how Doctorow's use of Morgan in the novel is believable.

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