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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. Why does John offer to drive Fay home in Chapter 3?
2. What sport was Carl a star of?
3. Where does John tell Ruth to meet him in Chapter 6?
4. What task in the bar does John worry about delegating in Chapter 3?
5. Who does John Nickel imagine as he walks through Fay's house?
Short Essay Questions
1. What do Marion and John discuss at the end of Chapter 5?
2. In Chapter 2, what does Fay reveal to John about herself?
3. How does Ruth interact with Fay and John in Chapter 6?
4. In what state is Carl when John and Fay find him in Chapter 3?
5. What does John reason about the Taft house in the beginning of Chapter 4?
6. How do John and Fay meet in Chapter 1?
7. What interchange do Fay and John have before parting in Chapter 4?
8. What is the nature of Ruth and John's visit together in the midst of Chapter 6?
9. What does Taft worry about regarding his children in Chapter 5?
10. In what state is Cyndi on the second night of Chapter 3?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Throughout the novel, many of Carl Taft's true objectives remain unknown to John Nickel and the reader. Write an essay discussing how these objectives are obscured and finally revealed. What drives Carl after his arrival in Memphis, and why is he treated as a lovable screw-up? How does this notion of his harmlessness prove to be incorrect? Discuss how Patchett reveals the fallacy of this notion, and what changes in the world of the novel after it is revealed.
Essay Topic 2
Write an essay about the dark worldview that exists in the novel. Citing specific examples from the text, discuss in what respect the world of Taft is dangerous, particularly to children. How are the innocent in danger throughout the novel, and what misfortunes befall them? Focusing on Fay and Carl Taft, chart the way naïve figures face the world's challenges. How do these experiences reflect on the prospect of Franklin growing up without a father?
Essay Topic 3
The novel of "Taft" is about two fathers and the children they fear losing. Each of the central figures is concerned that he is the only thing standing between his child and the dark, vicious world around them. Write a three-part essay about the children of these fathers and how losing a paternal figure affects them:
Part 1) Discuss the concerns that Levon Taft has for Fay. What does he worry Fay is not prepared for in the wide world? What plans does he make in his final days to bring her closer? What does Fay do after Taft's death to attempt to hold the family together? How does she crumble in the wake of the tragedy?
Part 2) Compare Carl's collapse after Taft's death to Fay's. How did her experience this tragedy differently? How was he already unpredictable? Discuss the depths to which Carl falls after his father's death, and where it ends?
Part 3) How does Franklin's life change after he is taken away from his father? How does John fear his son is in danger? Discuss the ways in which Franklin and John fear separation and fight to reunite through the novel.
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This section contains 1,099 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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