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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. In Chapter 9, Carl says he was arrested in the parking lot of what?

2. Who visits Taft in the middle of the night in Chapter 10?

3. What does Taft do as soon as he returns home from the mechanic in Chapter 10?

4. What do John and Fay eat for dinner in Chapter 9?

5. Where do the Woodmoores put John to sleep in Chapter 12?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does John anger Ruth at the beginning of Chapter 7?

2. What happens at dinner in Chapter 7.

3. What does Fay ask John at dinner in Chapter 9?

4. Why is John deeply gladdened by his morning with Marion and Franklin in Chapter 11?

5. What difficulty do John and Fay face in bailing Carl out in Chapter?

6. How do Ruth, Fay and Cyndi gang up on John at the beginning of Chapter 9?

7. Where does John go to recuperate in Chapter 12?

8. What confrontation do John and Carl have in Chapter 8?

9. How do Carl and John bond in Chapter 7?

10. What assessment does the mechanic in Chapter 10 make regarding Taft's car?

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

Romance in the novel is both a powerful force between characters and also one that is overcome by other types of love. Write an essay about the way romance is portrayed in "Taft". How does John Nickel fall in love with women in different and abandoned way? How do these romances fall apart? Discuss the motivations John has to leave the women that win his heart. What is more important to him in life?

Essay Topic 3

Over the course of the novel, Carl Taft appears to be a dangerous and dynamic character. The reader experiences him at many points in his life. Write a three-part essay about the trajectory Carl Taft takes over the course of the novel:

Part 1) What is Carl's life like before his father dies? Discuss what he values in life and what challenges he faces. What does his father do to keep him in line? What mistakes does he make in his adolescent years?

Part 2) Discuss the significance of Taft's death in Carl's life. How is his experience of this tragedy different from his sister's and mother's? What makes it more painful for him, and what significant collapse occurs in his character before he leaves Coalfield?

Part 3) How does the world of Memphis prove horribly detrimental to Carl's life? Discuss how bad habits and addiction become near-suicidal in the larger city? What is Carl's low point and how is he partially redeemed by the end of the novel?

(see the answer keys)

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