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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. Whose pigtails does Tom say he was pulling on the day he was baptized in Chapter 4?

2. What do the tractors in the novel represent symbolically?

3. What kind of animal does Casy describe as clinging with its jaws until one pries its head apart with a screwdriver in Chapter 13?

4. What did Uncle John's wife presumably die from?

5. What setting is described as where the swallows nest that Tom visits before leaving for California in Chapter 10?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the narrator describe the exchange between the migrant and the tire-seller in Chapter 12?

2. Who are Tom's siblings and how old are they?

3. How does Tom's family respond upon seeing him in Chapter 8?

4. What does Tom reveal about his past in Chapter 2?

5. How are the used car lot owners described in Chapter 7?

6. How are the circumstances of the landowners described in Chapter 5?

7. How does the narrator describe the spirit of man in Chapter 14?

8. Where does Tom Joad solicit a ride in Chapter 2? Who gives him a ride?

9. What do the banks represent in the novel?

10. Where does Tom encounter Jim Casy? What is Casy doing when he encounters Tom?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze and discuss the characters of Ma and Pa Joad. How old are these characters? Where do they live in the beginning of the novel? Why do they choose to go to California? What are the dynamics between these characters?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the theme of wrath in the novel. When does the title of the novel directly appear in the text? In what context? How is this theme developed through character, setting, and symbolism?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the themes of family and community in The Grapes of Wrath. What are the meanings and importance of family and community to the characters in the novel? What are the benefits of community? What are the drawbacks?

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