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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 the beginning of Chapter 10, David Keller cannot understand why he misses what?

2. What false promise does Andahl make before parting ways with Volterra in Chapter 9?

3. In Chapter 9, what medium does Volterra say would be best for telling the cult's story?

4. James travels to all of the following locations except which?

5. Why is James Axton in Bombay at the beginning of Chapter 11?

Short Essay Questions

1. What transpires during James' evening with Del Nearing in Chapter 10?

2. What offer does David Keller make James in Chapter 8, and how does James respond?

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

4. What does James Axton learn in Bombay early in Chapter 11?

5. In Chapter 12, why does Owen go to Lake Rajsamand?

6. Where is Volterra in his planning for the cult film at the end of Chapter 8?

7. According to Rowser in Chapter 11, what changes are happening in the Northeast Group.

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

9. What traumatic experience happens to Orville Benton in Chapter 14?

10. What does Singh say about the desert in Chapter 12?

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 place of America in the international community is a recurring motif in the narrative. How are all of the main characters - James Axton, Kathryn Axton, and Owen Brademas - at the back and call of this place? What new dangers are emerging from the ether in regards to Americans abroad? How is James Axton an operative of America in the hostile international world? How does Eliades represent the opposite, a spokesman and operative for a disgruntled world?

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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