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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 the narrator get a copy of the report from the homicide on ColdHarbour Lane?

2. What do both the narrator and Naz say they always used to like?

3. How many kinds of photographs does the narrator discover forensic investigators take?

4. How often does the narrator leave his apartment building in the month after he first receives his model of the building in Part III?

5. What happens to the narrator when he begins pouring over diagrams of the killing on Coldharbour Lane?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Part IV, what does the narrator realize about when he felt the most authentic since his accident?

2. What task does the narrator often ask Naz to perform for him that is outside the remit of his original purpose?

3. In Part IV, what kind of reenactment does the narrator ask for that is a departure from the other ones he has asked ror?

4. What interaction does the narrator have with the old woman who cooks liver, and why is it important?

5. What role does the narrator take in the homicide reenactment, and how does the reenactment make him feel?

6. What happens to the narrator in the days immediately following his homicide reenactment?

7. What does the narrator not like, and fail to consider, about the way the sun is hitting the floor in his apartment building?

8. What sensation does the narrator experience when he is very happy with the reenactments?

9. How does the narrator go about getting details about the event he wants to reenact in Part IV?

10. What does the doctor who examines the narrator conclude about the narrator in Part IV?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What events and circumstances make the narrator the most upset, agitated, and/or angry throughout the course of the novel? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

Do you think McCarthy intends for the reader to feel any measure of sympathy for the narrator by the end of this novel? Why or why not? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

When and how does McCarthy communicate the protagonist's increasing callousness towards those around him throughout the course of the novel? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

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