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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 is one reason the narrator feels justified in making such particular and peculiar demands of his staff?

2. How does the narrator move during his time in the Coldharbour Lane reenactment?

3. Who helps coordinate some of the timings for the narrator and his interactions with people in his apartment building?

4. What does the narrator find in the cupboard above the counter in his kitchen?

5. How much does the narrator pay for fixing his car?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. In Part IV, what event does the narrator become obsessed with reenacting?

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

4. In Part III, what particular aspect of his own new apartment do the workers have trouble getting right?

5. In Part III, who does the narrator begin to value more on his team and why?

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

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

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

9. Why does the narrator get so angry at the pianist in Part III?

10. What happens to the cats on the roof of the building routinely, and how does the narrator handle this problem?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

Essay Topic 2

What is the symbolism of the crack in the wall that the narrator becomes obsessed with after encountering it at the party early in the novel? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

What is the original source of the narrator's feelings of hollowness, alienation, and inauthenticity? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

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