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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 did Murray threaten to do at various times due to the Delegates' interferences, slow pace, and his suffering health?

2. What was Murray filled with after learning that Minor was a patient at the asylum?

3. What time span did the author use to describe the length of time Minor took to complete his first word list?

4. In what year did Brayn order all of Minor's privileges to be removed?

5. Over time, how did Minor feel about his crimes?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe how Minor may have felt when he entered the property at the Broadmoor Asylum.

2. What is relevant about the fact that Minor was a fan of Huxley, particularly his idea of agnosticism?

3. What was revealed about Minor's character in regards to his response to Murray's letter for help on the Oxford English Dictionary?

4. How did Minor come to be able to return to the United States at the end of his life? What obstacles did he face along the way?

5. Was it good that Minor began to view the asylum as his home?

6. Why could Minor more easily understand Murray's directions in comparison to others?

7. What was miraculous about Mrs. Merrett deciding to see Minor at Broadmoor?

8. It is suggested that Murray's letter to Minor was a token of forgiveness. Why?

9. The author compares Murray to a general on a battlefield. Why?

10. How did it become clear that Murray had very little idea of what psychological state Minor experienced?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Much of Chapter 3, The Madness of War, is taken up with Charles Minor's exploits around and during wartime. From this chapter, how do you think the author feels about war? Give examples to back up your answer.

Essay Topic 2

What narrative devices does the author employ in painting a vivid picture of life in 19th and early 20th Century England?

Essay Topic 3

Does the author associate much stigma with mental illness in the text? Give examples in your answer and explore what effects, in the author's view, mental illness might have had on the production of The Oxford English Dictionary.

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