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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. Who was the laughing stock of Spoon River?

2. To what age did Lucinda Matlock live?

3. Who dreamed of righting the wrongs of the world?

4. What did Alfonzo Churchill find in his studies?

5. Of what did Aaron Hatfield speak?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is the epitaph about the many soldiers different from the other epitaphs in the "Spoon River Anthology"?

2. What is one theme of the section beginning with Edmund Pollard and ending with Dippold the Optician?

3. Herman Altman and Columbus Cheney introduce the idea of reincarnation to the Anthology. Does this fit in with the Anthology's theme of spiritual evolution? If so, how? If not, why not?

4. Who killed Tom Merritt? What happened to Mrs. Merritt and her lover after Tom's murder?

5. Give three examples of enlightened souls in the section beginning with Edmund Pollard and ending with Dippold the Optician.

6. How was Lucinda Matlock able to deal with the deaths of eight of her twelve children?

7. What role does literature play in the section beginning with Edmund Pollard and ending with Dippold the Optician?

8. Why might it be important to treat your friends and family well, according to Le Roy Goldman?

9. What does the alligator rising out of the mud in Arlo Will's epitaph symbolize?

10. Compare and contrast Zilpha Marsh and Lydia Humphrey.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain the conflict between the conservative and liberal parties in Spoon River. What significance does this have to the Anthology?

Essay Topic 2

Explain the theme of vengeance in "Spoon River Anthology".

Essay Topic 3

Describe the types of souls that exist in the epitaphs of the "Spoon River Anthology".

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