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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 business in Memphis does Fay's uncle run?

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

3. What is obvious about Carl's disposition in Chapter 2?

4. Who does John Nickel imagine as he walks through Fay's house?

5. In Chapter 1, what is John doing to fend off depression?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what state is Carl when John and Fay find him in Chapter 3?

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

3. Describe the interchange between John and Fay in Chapter 5.

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

5. What does John reason about the Taft house in the beginning of Chapter 4?

6. Describe John Nickel's experience at the Rum Boogie Cafe.

7. How does Fay describe her family to John In Chapter 6?

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

9. Why did John Nickel leave Marion?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about the character of Fay Taft and how she is portrayed in the novel. To what extent if Fay an enigmatic character? How do both John and her father struggle to understand her and what she wants in her life? What fears do other characters have for her? In the end, is Fay a strong or a weak individual? What challenges and conflicts does Patchett use to reveal her essential character in the novel?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

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?

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