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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. Why doesn't Keith Landry stop at the Baxter house?

2. What does Keith Landry experience at the holiday gathering?

3. What does Keith Landry find in his mailbox in Chapter 8?

4. What does Keith Landry ask about at the gas station?

5. What did Keith Landry do in his job?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Keith Landry invited to do at the dinner he has at the Porter household?

2. Describe the reunion between Jeffrey Porter and Keith Landry.

3. Describe the farm Keith Landry returns to in Spencerville.

4. What does Keith Landry ultimately do with his car?

5. What happens after Keith Landry gives Billy Marlon a ride home?

6. How does the narrator describe the Porters' way of life?

7. What was Keith Landry's relationship with Cliff Baxter in high school?

8. How does Cliff Baxter's presence influence Keith Landry's relationship with his car?

9. What are Keith Landry's feelings as we meet him?

10. Describe the conflict that is being brewed as Keith Landry spends more time in Spencerville--and how it seems likely to be settled.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is missing from this book? What should have been covered or presented that was not? What is the effect of this absence? Describe an element that ought to have been covered, and explain why it would have made the book stronger.

Essay Topic 2

Is Spencerville a romance novel or an action novel? Describe how the novel balances or fails to balance the love theme and the rivalry between Keith Landry and Cliff Baxter.

Essay Topic 3

Having just finished his work in the Cold War, Keith Landry returns home to find a new opposition with the brutal police chief. How much does this opposition prolong the Cold War Keith Landry had been part of fighting? Compare and contrast Cliff Baxter and the Soviet Union. Is Cliff Baxter a symbol of repressive regimes?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 746 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample