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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. How old is Francis Tarwater?

2. What does Francis Tarwater do to the cabin?

3. What is Asbury convinced of?

4. Who does Mrs. McIntyre decide to fire?

5. What does the doctor want Julian’s mother to do?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Julian accompany his mother on the bus?

2. What happens at the end of “The Displaced Person”? How is it an example of irony?

3. Why does Thomas hide the gun in the guest room?

4. What happens to Mary Fortune?

5. Why is Mary George irritated with her brother?

6. Why does Asbury ask his mother to call for the priest?

7. What does Julian find embarrassing about his mother?

8. Why does Mrs. May want the bull removed from her pasture?

9. Why does the college girl in “Revelation” have a seizure?

10. Under what assumption does the daughter in “Good Country People” and mother trust the Bible salesman?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the beginning of the story “The Barber”, Rayber is reminiscing about his last shave. He tries to think of a rebuttal to all that the barber said. What are Rayber’s beliefs? What are the barber’s beliefs? Why does Rayber feel a need to convince the barber? Why does Rayber feel bad that he doesn’t stand up for his beliefs? Who’s listening into their conversation?

Essay Topic 2

How does Flannery O'Connor use the physically grotesque to illustrate the beautiful? Discuss the meaning she might have implied with the use of the one-armed man, the club-footed delinquent, the retarded young woman, and the neglected boy who seeks heaven in the river.

Essay Topic 3

The Grotesque

a. O’Connor was obsessed with grotesque images. Where is this evident in her writing?

b. What’s absurd about O’Connor’s stories?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 636 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample