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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. Where was Allison before she arrived in Linwood, NC?

2. How does Allison learn Will's name?

3. What does Will think that his constant hitting the golf ball out of bounds means in a larger sense?

4. Why does Allison go to see Jerry at Washau Motors?

5. Who is Allison's blond friend at the institution?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the trouble that the chaplain Jack Curl is having with Will's daughter, Leslie?

2. What is important about the hunting trip with his father that Will remembers during his golf game?

3. What makes Allison ask Will if he is still angry?

4. What does Will hope to prove with his experiment?

5. Why does Allison refuse Will's help in moving the stove?

6. How does Allison get the large iron cook stove into the greenhouse?

7. What happy discovery does Allison make when she gets the stove out of the cellar?

8. When Allison's parents have a conference alone with Dr. Duk, what does she find out that instigates her escape?

9. What happens when Will enters the greenhouse on his second visit?

10. What does Lewis think is wrong with Will?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Walker Percy revisits several themes or motifs throughout the novel including: memory, mental illness, self-discovery, independence, religion, nature, and love. Can you think of other themes or motifs from the novel? Write an essay discussing the most important theme or motif from the novel; that is, the one you think the author discusses the most or seems to feature as being the most important. Provide examples from the text to support your argument.

Essay Topic 2

Several of the characters in the novel are very religious; two are men of the cloth. Discuss the significance of religion in the novel. Does religion help shape the plot? Does it play a major role in the character development? What about the central conflict of the novel? Does religion play a role in that as well?

Essay Topic 3

One of Walker Percy's main themes in the novel The Second Coming is identity. Discuss how the characters in the novel deal with their identities, using at least two characters to compare and contrast. Provide specific examples from the text to support your discussion.

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