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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 had Father gotten his start in business?

2. What finally really captures Morgan's attention in the world?

3. Why do the police pay little attention to burglaries at Father's fireworks factory?

4. Most people think that it was the work of a group of armed men, but what does the newspaper suggest?

5. Where is Sarah funeral held?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Father return alone to New York, leaving the family in Atlantic City.

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

3. What happens to Sarah at the rally?

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

5. Why is Emma Goldman arrested after Coalhouse takes over the museum?

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

7. What is keeping Father busy that summer?

8. What happens on Houdini's tour of Europe?

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

10. What is Sarah's funeral like?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write a paper about class distinctions in the novel. Examine the fixation Americans had on Europeans and whether it still exists today. [Compare to America's fixation on the late Princess Diana.] Use the arrival of Freud and Young as one example and Mother's preference for the Europeans at Atlantic City as another. Show how that also influences Tateh to adopt the persona of Baron Ashkenazy.

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

Write a paper comparing Evelyn Nesbit with notorious movie stars of the 20th century. A good comparison might be to Marilyn Monroe. Compare their beginnings, Evelyn's posing nude for a statue and Marilyn appearing nude in Playboy Magazine, their notoriety in the press, and their many romantic entanglements. Doctorow suggests that Evelyn is the model for all the show business women who followed her. This should be a fun paper to write.

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This section contains 661 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample