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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 does Ruth demand immediately up entering Muddy's in Chapter 9?

2. How does John say he knows Carl at the jail in Chapter 9?

3. At the beginning of Chapter 11, what does Franklin say he wants to be when he grows up?

4. What does John teach Carl in Chapter 7?

5. Why is Carl not with Taft when he dies in Chapter 12?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Taft shaken by the site of Carl's accident in Chapter 10?

2. What happens at dinner in Chapter 7.

3. What does Wallace tell John about Carl in Chapter 8?

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

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

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

7. How does Taft die in Chapter 12?

8. Why does Taft ask his children to stay home Friday night?

9. What does Mrs. Woodmore request of John in Chapter 12?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

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

One of Anne Patchett's great gifts in dramatizing the moments between parents and children that typify the beauty of this type of relationship. Three such moments can be seen as pivotal moments in the novel. Write an essay about these three transcendent moment in the novel:

Part 1) Discuss the evening visit between Taft and Fay at the lumber yard. Why does Fay decide to interrupt her date to visit her father? In what respect is it a gift he desperately needs? How does this visit change his feelings about his relationship with his daughter?

Part 2) Discuss the moment in Chapter 11 that leaves John Nickel glowing. What does Franklin say he remembers about John, and why does this surprise John? How does it shift his thoughts regarding whether or not to reunite with Marion?

Part 3) Discuss the final passage of "Taft". How does is signify the perfect relationship between father and child? What is being taught by the parent, and how does the child receive the knowledge? What does this say about the joys and fears of parenthood?

(see the answer keys)

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