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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 had originally shown Sylder the corpse in the pit?

2. What does Sylder crash into when he careens off the road?

3. What is the only thing John Wesley finds in his animal traps?

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

5. Who picks up the whiskey on the orchard keeper's property and takes it the rest of the way on its journey?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Describe the Green Fly Inn.

3. What is the most that John Wesley has ever caught in his traps?

4. What does the man in Sylder's car want and what does Sylder end up doing?

5. What is the symbolism of the old man firing on the government tank on his property?

6. Who are Gifford and Legwater and what do they find at the scene of the car crash?

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

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

9. What does Sylder do after he is fired from his job?

10. Why is the old man afraid of cats and what extreme measures has he taken to keep them at bay?

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

McCarthy waits until almost the end of the novel to reveal the name of the orchard keeper. Why does he wait until this point? What does it mean when the reader finally knows the true identity of the orchard keeper? What is happening in the orchard keeper's life that erases any more secrecy about the old man? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

Create a brief character study of the orchard keeper What does he look like? What are his positive personality traits? What are some of his negative characteristics? What are his hopes and fears? What motivates him at this point?

(see the answer keys)

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