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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. Why does Sylder vomit in the woods?

2. How far is it to Atlanta from where Kenneth is now?

3. What does Sylder do with the dead body when he hears a truck coming?

4. Sylder and John Wesley walk to the house of Sylder's friend, _____________.

5. Who are the inhabitants of the truck?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do the voices in the woods tell John Wesley to do?

2. What happens to Sylder after the flat tire is fixed?

3. What spooks the orchard keeper when he visits the peach pit where the corpse is buried?

4. What do Sylder and June do when they locate the young hitchhikers?

5. What does the old man recall about the day he discovered the corpse buried in the peach pit?

6. What insight is revealed about Sylder's background?

7. What are the circumstances in which Sylder once again encounters the old man?

8. What does the orchard keeper do when he returns to his house?

9. How does the author give the first clue that Sylder is a bootlegger?

10. What is the whiskey running process in place in the area and what is Sylder's role in it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

McCarthy uses more than one instance of irony in the story. Cite at least two other examples you can identify in the story and note why they are examples of irony. What is the major irony in the story? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

The author uses more than one iteration on the theme of loss. Identify at least two examples about loss in the book and then explain why the examples support the theme.

Essay Topic 3

Nature takes on an almost human persona in this story. What is this literary technique called? Cite examples that support this position.

(see the answer keys)

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