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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. When several witnesses report seeing Terry covered in blood on the day of Frank's murder, what do they say his explanation had been?

2. Who directs Terry not to wear the bulletproof vest recommended by the police?

3. Who screams out for someone to help Terry as he lies dying on the ground?

4. Who purchases the object from the gift shop that may be useful in the investigation of Terry?

5. What is the last name of Frank, the boy whose mutilated body is discovered at the start of the novel?

Short Essay Questions

1. What regret does Ralph experience when he sees the melee outside the courthouse on the day of Terry's arraignment?

2. To what event does the part title The Arrest refer?

3. For what reason does Terry refuse to wear a bulletproof vest on the day of his arraignment?

4. What mental imagery alleviates Ralph's guilt about arresting Terry?

5. What are Terry's final words and what is their significance?

6. What gesture does Ralph make once Terry is shot that demonstrates where his priorities lie?

7. What is unusual about the timeline of Terry's arrest that makes Ralph uncomfortable?

8. Describe the technique of foreshadowing King chooses to include in the final lines of The Arrest.

9. Explain the significance of the epigraph Stephen King chooses for The Outsider.

10. What is the strongest piece of evidence that refutes the most damning evidence against Terry?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss King’s use of metaphor, simile, imagery, and other literary devices as a means to send particular thematic messages within the narrative of The Outsider.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss King's choice to tell the story of The Outsider using a third person omniscient narrator. What elements of the novel's themes lend themselves to this choice and what are King’s intended effects on the reader?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze King from an Existential perspective. What elements of life does it suggest hold the most meaning and why?

(see the answer keys)

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