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

2. What does James wish he could do at the end of the night in Chapter 2?

3. What is the subject of Volterra's breakout documentary?

4. Who joins James and Ann at lunch at the beginning of Chapter 7?

5. What invitation does James extend to Volterra at the end of Chapter 6?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the awkward lunch at the beginning of Chapter 7.

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

3. How has Charles Maitland changed of late?

4. Why does James Axton like having late-night talks with Owen and Kathryn?

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

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

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

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

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

10. What is James and Kathryn's relationship with Volterra?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about the marriage and separation of James and Kathryn Axton. How did their marriage affect each others individual life and goals? What state is the marriage in when the novel begins, and how did it reach this point? Discuss how Kathryn and James' personalities and lifestyles change after the separation. What idiosyncrasies are revealed as a result? What finally breaks the marriage apart for good, and how does the veneer of cordiality disappear as a result?

Essay Topic 2

The world of The Names is one in which truth and facts are subjective. One can never be certain what is real and what is imagined. As such, there are a plethora of ambiguous characters in the novel. Write an essay about three such characters, discussing what they appear to be and what they are. How is the narrative affected by each of these characters? What deceptions do they perpetrate, and to what end? Is each characters' objectives identified by the end of the novel?

Part 1) Eliades

Part 2) Rowser

Part 3) Andahl

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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