View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is Rudolph secretly in love with?

2. Teresa is angry with Thomas for _________________________.

3. Where does Gretchen want to move?

4. What stops Mary from killing herself?

5. Why is Mary mad at Axel?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the reasons that Axel is depressed which ultimately lead to his death?

2. What happens to Thomas as a result of his beating Mr. Greening?

3. Explain how Thomas is Axel's least favorite child but Thomas is most like Axel.

4. What does Thomas do to Teddy Boylan as revenge for Teddy's seducing Gretchen?

5. What are the two major sources of Rudolph's depression and frustration?

6. How are Rudolph, Gretchen and Thomas introduced in the story?

7. Explain the foreshadowing related to Thomas' discovery of Gretchen's affair.

8. Explain the complications of Axel's decision to pay off the father of the girls who have accused Thomas of statutory rape.

9. What are the underlying feelings of the members of the Jordache family at dinner?

10. What is the state of Mary's physical and mental health?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain how Rudolph's role as protagonist evolves as the plot extends. How does Rudolph change from the hard-working boy in a bakery to a manipulative businessman and politician? What are Rudolph's motivators? Is Rudolph the typical protagonist hero?

Essay Topic 2

Describe the role of the family in RICH MAN, POOR MAN. What does it mean for each of the main characters? How does the family evolve in its support of each other? How typical is the Jordache family to most American families?

Essay Topic 3

Describe some of the settings for the novel. Be sure to include geography, time period and any pertinent popular culture events. Why did Shaw choose to use these places in the text?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,068 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample