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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. According to James in Chapter 1, what does Kathryn think life should be?

2. At the beginning of Chapter 7, James wonders whether adultery serves what purpose?

3. Who is Del Nearing?

4. Who else is on the bus that Volterra, James, and Del take in Chapter 6?

5. What scares Owen about religion?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What strange coincidence does James notice at the end of Chapter 6?

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

4. How has Kathryn Axton changes since separating from James?

5. Describe the tiff that Charles Maitland and James have at the end of Chapter 7.

6. How is Owen haunted by his childhood memories of religion?

7. According to Owen in Chapter 5, Why does the world hate America?

8. What does James Axton do in Europe?

9. What conversation do Eliades and James have at dinner in Chapter 3?

10. How is Rowser's lifestyle strange given his position?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about the Northeast Group, what it ostensibly does as a company, how it is represented in the novel, and what it, in reality, is a functionary of. What is James Axton's role within the Northeast Group? What other character is his contact, and how does this character represent a strange intensity unusual for a private company? What does the Group do in the novel, and how are its true functions slyly revealed tot he reader and James Axton alike? What is the fallout?

Essay Topic 2

In the latter half of The Names, James Axton develops several female entanglements that serve as temporary place-fillers for his lost family. Write an essay about these three: Janet Ruffing, Del Nearing, and Ann Maitland. How does Ruffing fulfill his sexual needs as a man? How does Nearing fulfill his paternal needs after the essential loss of Tap? Discuss, lastly, how Ann Maitland provides the most complete relationship for him. What are the defining attributes of this relationship? How does their final moment in the novel resonate as particularly significant?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about the relationship between James and Tap Axton. What do father and son do together throughout the novel, and how does the impending divorce affect this activity? What habits does Tap have that alienate him from James? Discuss whether DeLillo paints a picture of a father and son relationship that seems strong in any way. What other character seems more like a father figure to Tap?

(see the answer keys)

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