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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. Whom did Harlan Sewall repay?

2. Whose work did Thomas Trevelyan read?

3. Who zigzagged aimlessly?

4. What did people think of Willie Pennington?

5. What did Edith Conant lament?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does William Goode justify his aimless wandering?

2. Many residents suffered greatly because of bad luck. Give at least one example of such a resident.

3. Why are there many references to soldiers and war in the section beginning with Magrady Graham and ending with Mabel Osborne?

4. What does Lyman King say about Fate?

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

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

7. Compare and contrast the village atheist and John Ballard.

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

9. 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?

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 importance of names in "Spoon River Anthology".

Essay Topic 2

How does Masters explore ethics in "Spoon River Anthology"? Use the example of at least one resident to support your claims.

Essay Topic 3

What role does faith play in the lives of Spoon River's residents?

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