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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. What roles are Ray and Dorothy performing in the play they have just returned home from in "Trunk"?

2. When do Ray Brinkman and Dorothy Cazaly go on an audition for Macbeth?

3. In what year does John Hoel begin photographing the chestnut tree every month?

4. How much were the participants in the Stanford Prison Experiment paid each day?

5. When does Patricia Westerford begin working with the Bureau of Land Management?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do The Sylvan Prophesies and Sempervirens refer to?

2. Who is Dennis Ward and what is his relationship to Patricia Westerford?

3. How do Olivia's parents respond to the change in her life after electrocution?

4. What does Douglas experience during his service in the Vietnam War?

5. Why does Ray's profession affect his relationship with Dorothy?

6. What is the Life Defense Force? How does it factor into the novel?

7. What does Adam Appich go on to study as an adult? Why?

8. How is Patricia Westerford's education described? What career does she enter?

9. What tragedy does Nicholas Hoel experience in his youth?

10. How does Mimi feel after her arrest with Douglas at the march in "Trunks"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss three examples of irony in The Overstory. How is verbal irony employed and to what effect? What dramatic irony can be seen? What is an example of situational irony?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze and discuss the character of Adam Appich in The Overstory. What is Adam's connection with trees? How does he become involved in the movement against logging? What happens to Adam at the end of the novel? Why?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the theme of destruction in The Overstory. How is this theme developed through the actions of the characters? How is it explored through symbolism? What statement do you think the author is making regarding destruction?

(see the answer keys)

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