View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What reminds Carl of his time in California with Sandy?

2. With whom is Roy having an affair?

3. What does Carl do with his box of photos?

4. Where does Carl start hanging out regularly?

5. What does Sandy do after Arvin is out of the car?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where does Carl take Sandy to teach her to shoot and how does the land owner almost lose his life?

2. What does Pastor Sykes announce and what does he not tell his congregation?

3. What does Arvin sense when Carl stops the car and what does Arvin do as Arvin gets out of the car?

4. Who do Carl and Sandy pick up after Roy and what does each person in the car think as they are riding?

5. Why does Arvin beat up three local boys?

6. Where does Arvin go to live and with whom does he develop a friendship?

7. Where does Carl start hanging out and what is his reaction one night to a conversation between two Republicans?

8. What does Carl get Sandy and what is her reaction?

9. What does Carl think about when he goes to eat at the White Cow Diner?

10. What does Joe tell Sandy when he visits her at the bar one day and what is her reaction?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

There are a number of interesting questions raised by "The Devil All the Time". Questions that Pollock most likely want readers to consider and think through carefully. Discuss the following:

1. What does the term "author agenda" mean?

2. Name one idea/concept you think may have been a part of the Pollock's agenda. Analyze that idea throughout the book and discuss Pollock's probable agenda concerning that idea.

2. Do you think writers who have an agenda for writing should point it out in a preface?

3. How often do you think fiction is written with a clear agenda in mind by the author?

4. Research the life of Pollock and see if/where his life may have influenced his writing.

Essay Topic 2

1. What is foreshadow? How many incidences of foreshadow are in "The Devil All the Time"? How does foreshadow contribute to a book's suspense?

2. Discuss an example of foreshadow in "The Devil All the Time" including why you believe it is foreshadow. Include examples from the book and your own life to illustrate your answer.

3. How do you think most people react to uncertainty in their lives? Use examples from "The Devil All the Time" and your own live to support your opinion.

Essay Topic 3

Willard's killing of Dunlap and the apparent spilling of his blood, is a grotesque reiteration of the narrative's emphasis on violence - another motif. It can also be seen as tying in with the two lessons Willard gave Arvin in the prologue of what Willard sees as standing up for himself and how he clearly chooses his time to do so quite carefully.

1. What do you think the author is saying about violence in this work? Use examples from your life and the text to support your answer.

2. Discuss Willard in light of his belief that the sacrifice of animals, and then a human, would restore his wife to health. Use examples from your life and the text to support your answer.

3. How do you think the two lessons Arvin received from Willard affected Arvin's life? Use examples from your life and the text to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,192 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample