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

2. Who is the presumptive writer of Chapter 14?

3. Where is Del Nearing en route to when she stays with James in Chapter 10?

4. Based on the revelations of the novel, who most likely tried to shoot James?

5. What almost happens to Volterra in the humorous personal story he tells in Chapter 9?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How does James follow up on his Mani discovery later in Chapter 8?

3. How does James learn the truth behind the CIA in Chapter 13?

4. How has Rowser become more paranoid in Chapter 11?

5. What unsettling information does Ann Maitland tell James in Chapter 10?

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

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

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

9. How does Owen experience the murder in Chapter 12?

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

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

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?

(see the answer keys)

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