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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. What item does James buy as soon as he arrives in Amman in Chapter 6?

2. What religious festival do Owen, Kathryn and James discuss in Chapter 2?

3. Where does Volterra need to travel to meet a possible cult member in Chapter 6?

4. Who is Mrs. Helen?

5. How does Kathryn describe her and James' post-separation relationship in Chapter 2?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 4, what plan does Kathryn have for after her dig ends?

2. What theories do Kathryn and Owen posit about the killings in Chapter 5?

3. What do Owen and James talk about at the end of Chapter 2?

4. What theory about the language cult does James present to Owen in Chapter 7?

5. How do Kathryn and James discuss their relationship in Chapter 2?

6. Why is Owen uncomfortable talking about the Feast of the Virgin in Chapter 2?

7. How did James Axton begin working at Northeast Group?

8. What explanation of the language cult's motives does Vosdanik offer in Chapter 6?

9. How is Owen's connection to the cave people addressed in Chapter 4?

10. How has Charles Maitland changed of late?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In The Names, Don DeLillo sets up two mysteries that seem at one point to be connected. Write an essay discussing the reality behind both mysteries and how DeLillo juxtaposes them. Which two entities are aware of James Axton, and which one specifically attempts to harm him? What inclinations does he have that either of these entities is on to him? Which entity does Eliades belong to? How the reality behind either entity revealed in the narrative?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay about the character of Frank Volterra. What is his connection to the Axtons, and how does he find himself in the search of the language cult? Discuss how DeLillo paints Volterra with a different brush that the other characters. Is he, in essence, a caricature of the temperamental auteur director? How does Del Nearing's attachment to Volterra humanize him to a certain point?

Essay Topic 3

The Names takes place in a place and time in which new and unknown dangers are emerging for expat Americans. The novel finds clever and unnerving ways to illustrate these dangers. Write an essay in three parts dealing with the way DeLillo illustrates danger and fear in the novel:

Part 1) Discuss the new international reality that is emerging for Americans in the early 1980's. What is the state of the Cold War at this time? What events have illustrated the new danger posed by religious extremism? To what extent is James Axton's profession the quintessential creation of American expat culture in this time?

Part 2) James Axton is clearly a character what sits at the tip of the spear for international danger. What dangers exist for him throughout the novel? Discuss ambiguous characters, messages, and events that strike him as dangerous? What violent moment serves as the culmination of this nascent danger, and who does James think is responsible for it?

Part 3) Discuss the subterranean actions that place James Axton's life in danger throughout the novel. How has James been an unwitting pawn of the intelligence community? What was hunting him throughout the novel? How does he discover the true nature of his work?

(see the answer keys)

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