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

2. In Chapter 1, what does John Nickel say he will probably never do again?

3. Why does Taft stop working on the deck early in Chapter 5?

4. What is Rose's job at Muddy's?

5. Who does John decide should handle the bar deposits in Chapter 4?

Short Essay Questions

1. What role does Carl play at Muddy's as time does on?

2. How do John and Fay meet in Chapter 1?

3. Why did John return to Marion?

4. Describe the interchange between Carl and John in Chapter 4?

5. What do John and Fay do at the battlefield in Chapter 4?

6. Who does Fay introduce John to Chapter 2?

7. How has John's relationship with the Woodmoores changed?

8. What does John imagine at the end of Chapter 4?

9. What does John learn about Marion at dinner in Chapter 5?

10. How is Levon Taft's life described in Chapter 5?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

"Taft" is a story of two fathers: Levon Taft and John Nickel. Compare these two protagonists in an essay. What flaws does each father have? How does the author make clear to the reader that both Taft and John are, at heart, good men? Which struggles do the men share, and what problems are unique to each? Discuss the way each man's arc is a commentary on the other.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay about Patchett's portrayal of the modern Deep South in the novel. What is left of the specter of Jim Crow in the South? How do the remnants of segregation and racism manifest themselves in the narrative? Discuss how this nascent bigotry affects the character of John Nickel. Why does it make him more reticent to connect with Fay Taft? Is the city really as racist as he believes?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the narrative structure of "Taft" in an essay. What two narratives comprise the story of the novel? How does Patchett interweave the two plotlines? To what extent does the reader already know the outcome of one of these plots? Discuss the ways the author is able to comment on over narrative with the other? What thematic elements does each share?

(see the answer keys)

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