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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. What does Catherine first notice when she looks in the door of the tenant house?

2. What is the name of the dispatcher at the sheriff's office?

3. What job did Catherine ask Leona if she had applied for?

4. Who is Randall Gerrard?

5. Who does Catherine tell the sheriff she saw on her way out to the tenant shack?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is the relationship of Catherine and Randall advanced by the dramatic situation they find themselves in after Leona's and then Tom's death?

2. What is Catherine doing at the beginning of the novel?

3. Do you believe that Catherine's discovery of Tom's body has lessened or heightened Sheriff Galton's suspicion of her? What else in Chapter 11 could contribute to the heightening or lessening of the sheriff's suspicion of Catherine?

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

5. Why doesn't Catherine stop at either of the two houses on the dirt road to ask for help?

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

7. Who does Randall fear that Leona may have blackmailed and why? How would Leona have gotten this information?

8. What is Catherine's explanation for why her father's old office is so close to her home?

9. Who does Catherine see on the way to the farm the day she discovers the body? Where does she see this person? How does she feel about telling this to the sheriff?

10. What is the place or position of the Perkins family in Lowfield? Who are they as citizens of the town?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explore the character of Carl Perkins. How does this character present himself in the novel? What clues can Catherine look back on concerning her interactions with Carl to determine that he is in fact the murderer? Discuss Carl Perkins' motives for committing the murders. Would you say that Carl is the typical culprit in a murder mystery?

Essay Topic 2

Explore the character of Molly Perkins. There are several clues that suggest that Molly knew all along what her husband, Carl, was doing. What are they? Provide examples from the book. Why would Molly consent to this type of behavior from Carl? Was she just as concerned with public reputation or was she just being loyal to her husband? Do you think that Molly was under threat of death for her silence as everyone else?

Essay Topic 3

Suspicion is an important element in a murder mystery, and it is definitely present in the novel, "Sweet and Deadly." Describe how suspicion is present in the novel. Who suspects Catherine of committing the crimes and why? Who does Catherine suspect (even minor suspicion) in the novel and why? How does this suspicion affect the characters and their relationships with one another?

(see the answer keys)

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