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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. Which of the following does NOT describe Carl Perkins?

2. What is Catherine pestered by when she is out at the tenant shack?

3. Where does Tom live?

4. Who are Catherine's neighbors?

5. What day of the week is it when Catherine wakes up the morning after finding the dead body?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Catherine's state of mind appear to be in the beginning of the novel?

2. Explain why Catherine has to drive Tom to work on Tuesday and Leila's reaction to seeing them together.

3. The morning after she finds Leona's body, how does Catherine feel when she firsts wakes up? How does this change? Can you explain the reasons for Catherine's feelings?

4. Why does Catherine decide to solve the crime by herself and not go to the police or Randall for help first?

5. Why do people feel so comfortable confiding their secrets to Catherine? How does Catherine feel about the secrets of the town and being the one they are told to?

6. Describe the last time that Catherine talked to Leona Gaites, as she explains it to Sheriff Galton.

7. Why does Catherine become suspicious of everyone in town in Chapter 10? What does this tell us about her at this point in the novel?

8. What is the point of the buzzer that Catherine points out to Tom in his house? Does the author's inclusion of this indicate anything in the novel?

9. Describe the discovery of Tom's body. What is Catherine's reaction and her emotional state? Who else is in Tom's house and why?

10. Why does Carl Perkins come to see Catherine at the Lowfield Gazette on Tuesday? What is notable about their conversation?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the beginning of the novel, we meet a depressed and withdrawn Catherine Linton, and the tone of the novel also seems somber and full of imagery related to isolation. However, this mood seems to change as Catherine's character grows and develops through the novel. Can you identify a parallel between the Catherine's mood throughout the novel and the mood of the novel itself? Is this a writing technique of the author used on purpose? What effect does it have on the novel and on the development of the plot? Provide examples.

Essay Topic 2

Symbols are commonly used in literature to represent an idea or feeling that the author chooses to be present in the novel. For example, in "Sweet and Deadly," a couple of the symbols used include the dun colored dog and the baseball bat used to commit the crimes. The dog can be seen as the symbol for the "circle of life" that Catherine and Randall talk about a few times and the baseball bat can identify the hostility of the killer. Use these symbols and provide other examples from the novel and answer the following questions. What do the symbols in the novel stand for? How? What do the symbols promote or convey to the reader in the novel? How does the author use the symbol to convey an idea and why does she use the symbol instead of simply stating her idea?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss some of the literary devices used in the novel including foreshadowing, metaphor, mood, imagery and others that are present in the novel "Sweet and Deadly." Provide examples of where these devices are used and how they impact the novel.

(see the answer keys)

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