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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. Who does the officer in the jail insist must bail out Carl in Chapter 9?
2. Who does Taft fear is dead in Chapter 8?
3. What does Carl do immediately before John kicks him out in Chapter 8?
4. Why does John demand not to be taken to the hospital in Chapter 11?
5. What does Mrs. Woodmoore interrupt when she comes to talk to John in Chapter 12?
Short Essay Questions
1. How does Marion's friend, the doctor, help John in Chapter 11?
2. What does Mrs. Woodmore request of John in Chapter 12?
3. Where does John go to recuperate in Chapter 12?
4. What does Wallace tell John about Carl in Chapter 8?
5. How does Taft die in Chapter 12?
6. What is John's catharsis at the end of Taft?
7. Describe Taft's interaction with Tommy Lawson's son in Chapter 10?
8. Why does Taft ask his children to stay home Friday night?
9. How does Carl explain his arrest in Chapter 9?
10. How do Carl and John bond in Chapter 7?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
John Nickel is a deeply sympathetic character, but his self-destructive tendencies come into view whenever he becomes sexually entangled with a woman. Write an essay about three such of these entanglements. How does each begin and how does each develop? What personal weaknesses do these trysts reveal in John? What mental anguish do they unearth? Does John overcome this anguish by the end of the novel? If so, how?
Part 1) Marion
Part 2) Ruth
Part 3) Fay
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
The novel of "Taft" is about two fathers and the children they fear losing. Each of the central figures is concerned that he is the only thing standing between his child and the dark, vicious world around them. Write a three-part essay about the children of these fathers and how losing a paternal figure affects them:
Part 1) Discuss the concerns that Levon Taft has for Fay. What does he worry Fay is not prepared for in the wide world? What plans does he make in his final days to bring her closer? What does Fay do after Taft's death to attempt to hold the family together? How does she crumble in the wake of the tragedy?
Part 2) Compare Carl's collapse after Taft's death to Fay's. How did her experience this tragedy differently? How was he already unpredictable? Discuss the depths to which Carl falls after his father's death, and where it ends?
Part 3) How does Franklin's life change after he is taken away from his father? How does John fear his son is in danger? Discuss the ways in which Franklin and John fear separation and fight to reunite through the novel.
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This section contains 1,260 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) |
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