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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. Where is Budd Woodmoore stationed?

2. According to Fay in Chapter 4, what did her mother spend all day doing after Taft's death?

3. In Chapter 5, what does Fay say she would have named her son?

4. Who gets standoffish with John near the end of Chapter 4?

5. At the end of Chapter 4, John imagines Car and Taft doing what?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who does Fay introduce John to Chapter 2?

2. How does Ruth interact with Fay and John in Chapter 6?

3. Why do Taft's in-laws get annoyed at Carl in Chapter 6?

4. Why does John buy cigarettes in Chapter 5?

5. What happened to the Taft family after the patriarch's death?

6. In Chapter 2, what does Fay reveal to John about herself?

7. What interchange do Fay and John have before parting in Chapter 4?

8. What do Marion and John discuss at the end of Chapter 5?

9. What is the nature of Ruth and John's visit together in the midst of Chapter 6?

10. What call does John Nickel make at work in Chapter 2?

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

The narratives of "Taft" take place in two towns: Memphis and Coalfield. In an essay, compare the way that these two towns are portrayed in the novel. What abstract ideas and movements are represented by the towns? How does Patchett forge a tone in the novel for each of these settings? Discuss the characters that come from each town. How are their objectives and values similar and different? Do they come into conflict?

Essay Topic 3

The world of "Taft" is - for much of the novel - the world of Muddy's, the bar John Nickel runs. This microcosm of Memphis is created by the individuals that populate it. Write an essay about three characters that populate Muddy's. How would you describe each character? What role does each play in the plot? Is this a sympathetic individual? What does this character add to the setting of the novel?

Part 1) Rose

Part 2) Cyndi

Part 3) Wallace

(see the answer keys)

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