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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 zigzagged aimlessly?

2. Who is killed in the fight after all the votes have been cast?

3. Who was the laughing stock of Spoon River?

4. What did Hiram Scates run for president of?

5. Of what did Aaron Hatfield speak?

Short Essay Questions

1. Compare and contrast E. C. Culbertson and Hildrup Tubbs.

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

3. What does Lyman King say about Fate?

4. Why is Hog-eyed Allen at the courthouse on the day of the election? What happens to him?

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

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

7. 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?

8. How is Father Malloy's epitaph different from the others in the "Spoon River Anthology"?

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

10. Why does Jefferson Howard challenge the liberal party in the planning meeting?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the tone of "Spoon River Anthology"? How do you know?

Essay Topic 2

Whose story is the most important in "Spoon River Anthology"? Why? How does this person's story affect the rest of the residents?

Essay Topic 3

Explain how Masters's use of poetry affects the reader's experience in reading "Spoon River Anthology". How would it be different if it were written in prose?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 791 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample