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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. In Chapter 12, what does Owen look at Rajsamand Lake?

2. Who does James spend much of Chapter 13 trying to find?

3. What is distinct about the writing style of Chapter 14?

4. At the beginning of Chapter 12, what does Owen mistake James for?

5. At the beginning of Chapter 13, how does James decide his son's life in British Columbia must be?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does James seduce Janet Ruffing at the end of Chapter 9?

2. What unfortunate occurrence happens to David Keller in Chapter 13?

3. What information does Andahl give about the cult in Chapter 9?

4. In Chapter 8, what does James see in Mani that shakes him up?

5. How does Owen look in Chapter 12?

6. What prank do the Kellers and James try to play on Hardeman in Chapter 11?

7. What admission does James make to Lindsay Keller in Chapter 13?

8. Describe the political argument that James and Eliades have in Chapter 10.

9. How is Chapter 14 connected thematically to the rest of the novel?

10. What suspicions does James have about Eliades in Chapter 13?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

In DeLillo's novel, objects and words take on symbolic value. Some of this becomes inchoate as a result of age and divine intent. Some of it is created in the mind of the observer. Write an essay discussing the significance of certain objects in the book. What individual is engrossed with this object, and what reasons does he or she give? What effect does this object have on characters? What divine significance does this object have in relation to other elements of the novel?

Part 1) The Acropolis

Part 2) The Cuneiform the archeologist hires a boy to read on a high precipice.

Part 3) The Ta Onomata boulder

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about Owen Brademas and his function thematically in the narrative. Based on first impressions from the opening chapters, what does Owen value above all else in life? What does he want to achieve? Discuss how these objectives drive Owen to seek out the cult, and how his skills make him the most effective of the searchers. Why does he become paralyzed by the prospect of meeting the cult? How does his experience with them leave him?

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