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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. About what does Jamie joke when Carl pulls over to a field?

2. What does Arvin find on Carl's body?

3. Who is Cynthia?

4. What is the phone call about to Bodecker?

5. Why does Arvin get into fights at school?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Teagardin's seduction of Lenora.

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

3. How does Lenora accidentally commit suicide?

4. What are Roy and Theodore now doing?

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

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

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

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

9. Why does Arvin beat up three local boys?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Bodecker himself has gone up in the world, at least in terms of public status. The reference to his taking bribes, on the other hand, reveals how low he has sunk in terms of personal moral status. The reference to bribes also foreshadows events later in the narrative in which his hard-won status becomes increasingly endangered by his corrupt activities and attitudes. Meanwhile, it's interesting to note how his, Sandy's and Carl's varied states of corruption are juxtaposed one to the other to the other, parallel situations that lead to parallel justice - death at the hands of the avenging Arvin.

1. Do you think Bodecker was always corrupt? Why or why not? Do you think public office corrupts many individuals? Why or why not? Use examples from your life and the text to support your answer.

2. Discuss what is meant by the following: Bodecker's, Sandy's and Carl's varied states of corruption are juxtaposed one to the other to the other. Use examples from your life and the text to support your answer.

3. Do you think Bodecker deserved to die as much as some of the other corrupt characters? Why or why not? Use examples from your life and the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Titles often play a vital role in making a person decide to read a particular book. Discuss the following:

1. Fully explain why you think "The Devil All the Time" is titled as such. Do you think it is the best title for the book? Why or why not? Can you think of a better title? Why would you choose it?

2. How important is a title in influencing you to consider reading a book? Explain your answer.

3. Do you think a title needs to have direct relevance to a book's content? Explain your answer.

4. Have you ever read a book that when you finished, you do not understand the relevance of the title? Does it discourage you from "trusting" that particular author again?

(see the answer keys)

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