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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 present does Will bring Allison when he comes back to visit her at the greenhouse?

2. What word does Will tell Allison that she needs to know?

3. Where does Will go for help after the hunting accident?

4. What does the woman with the brochures invite Allison to do?

5. Where did Will's father get the Luger from?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the first time Will Barrett's deceased wife is mentioned?

2. Why does Allison buy herself new clothes when she gets to Linwood?

3. When does Will realize who Allison is?

4. Why does Allison want to move the old stove into her greenhouse?

5. What is the self-discovery that Allison makes before she goes to Linwood?

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

7. What does Lewis think is wrong with Will?

8. What does the story about the man who survives the plane crash mean to Allison?

9. What kind of shady business proposition does Ewell McBee make to Will?

10. What is it that Will Barrett realizes when he falls down during the golf game at the opening of the novel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Will and Allison are both attuned to nature, noticing clouds, grass, trees, birds, ants, and so on, throughout the course of the novel. Discuss Walker Percy's use of nature in the novel and how the appreciation of nature contributes to Will and Allison's characters.

Essay Topic 3

Will's guns become important symbols that we as readers associate with him throughout the novel. Write an essay explaining the significance of each gun (the Luger, the Greener, and the Sterlingworth) and what each comes to mean individually, as well as what the guns represent collectively for Will. Why do you think Walker Percy chose these objects to associate with Will? Does the meaning change over time?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 653 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample