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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 do Taft's in-laws live?
2. In Chapter 5, what does Mr. Woodmoore privately ask John to do?
3. What rule does John have about drinking?
4. How does John know the woman at Rum Boogie Cafe?
5. In Chapter 1, what is John doing to fend off depression?
Short Essay Questions
1. Who does Fay introduce John to Chapter 2?
2. Describe the interchange John has with Cyndi in Chapter 4?
3. What happened to the Taft family after the patriarch's death?
4. How has John's relationship with the Woodmoores changed?
5. In what state is Carl when John and Fay find him in Chapter 3?
6. Why does Levon Taft dislike his in-laws?
7. Why does John buy cigarettes in Chapter 5?
8. How are Taft's feelings about race elucidated in Chapter 6?
9. Describe the frantic call that John gets at the end of the Chapter 1?
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
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 2
One of the central plotlines of the novel is the relationship between John Nickel and John Taft. This relationship is odd in that it does not abandon itself to the sexual tension around it. Write a three-part essay, analyzing this relationship:
Part 1) What is John Nickel's initial impression of Fay Taft, and why does he decide to bring her on to staff at Muddy's? Discuss how the relationship between Fay and John develops in the first weeks. How does it shift on the night that Carl overdoses?
Part 2) Discuss how John and Fay's impromptu trip to Shiloh helps develop the relationship between them. Why do they go? What is each character looking for from the other in these passages? What act of tenderness occurs at the end of the night?
Part 3) How does the relationship between John and Fay become a romantic relationship? What events help catalyze this shift? What kind of reaction does this receive from those around them, and how does the romantic entanglement effectively end?
Essay Topic 3
Write an essay about Levon Taft, and how he is largely a creation of John Nickel's imagination. Why would John Nickel become fixated on Taft? How does he become aware of Taft's existence and death? Discuss the origin of the information in the Taft narrative: his first name, his car, and his various jobs. When would John have heard about these details? Discuss how the final chapter involves John's complete immersion in a Taft construction.
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This section contains 1,136 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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