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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 taught Penn about explosives and the damage they cause?

2. As Stone and Penn rush from the house with bullets flying behind them, where do the two men flee?

3. After getting away from their pursuers, where does Stone send Penn to for help?

4. As Penn ponders what he has learned to this point, what does Penn begin to believe the murder was about?

5. What does Caitlin learn from a phone call that she receives at her office?

Short Essay Questions

1. After Johnson speaks at Ruby's funeral, Althea gets up to speak. What does Althea say?

2. What does Penn learn from the eyewitness that Penn tracks down upon his return to Natchez?

3. Why does Tom Cage at first not believe that Leo Marston would have been involved in Payton's murder?

4. Why does Penn ask Caitlin to accompany him on his upcoming trip?

5. When Annie is returned to Penn, there is also a note for Penn. What does the note say?

6. When Penn receives a phone call from Althea after the Hanratty execution, what does Althea tell Penn?

7. What is the real reason that Peter Lutjens is being transferred?

8. According to Caitlin, what is the reason why Agent Stone is reluctant to speak to Penn about the Payton case?

9. What happened to the woman in the car when she revealed what she had seen the night of the Payton murder?

10. Describe one retaliatory event that occurs after Penn's accusations are published in the paper.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast Tom Cage and Leo Marston.

a. How are the two characters similar? How are they different?

b. Compare the role that honesty plays in each of their lives. How is each character affected by the concept of honesty - both positively and negatively?

Essay Topic 2

Throughout the story, there are several attempts on characters that either die or are killed.

a. Identify three characters that do not survive until the end of the novel. Describe each character and the circumstances surrounding their deaths.

b. Compare and contrast the characters that do not survive. What does the author have to gain by killing these characters off? What, if anything, does the author lose?

c. How would the story have changed if one or more of your identified characters had survived?

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast the characteristics, roles, loyalties, and agendas of the following people in the story: Penn Cage, Leo Marston, Austin Mackey, John Portman, and Dwight Stone.

(see the answer keys)

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