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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 Penn arrives back in Natchez after the trip to Colorado, a fax is waiting for him. This fax tells him about ____________.

2. After driving around alone after Ruby's funeral, where does Penn finally end up?

3. According to the records stolen by the person who interrupts Penn and his companion at Biscuits and Blues, what was the fee for her private adoption?

4. Years earlier, from what had the person trapped inside the house saved Penn?

5. What do Marston and his companion remove from Marston's office?

Short Essay Questions

1. What advice does Penn's Colorado interviewee give to Penn regarding the Payton case?

2. How does the person who interrupts Penn at Biscuit and Blues learn that her birth certificate does not list a father's name?

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

4. Why does Caitlin change her mind about publishing Penn's accusations in her paper?

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

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

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

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

9. As Penn peeks in the window of the Marston family home, what does Penn see Leo preparing to do?

10. When Penn arrives at his interview in Colorado, the interviewee does not want to talk. What changes the interviewee's mind?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Leo Marston is a man who is supremely confident. Identify at least three instances from the story that highlight his confidence. How is Marston helped by his utter confidence? How is Marston hurt by his confidence? Provide examples of each.

Essay Topic 2

Penn Cage and Olivia Marston become intimate during two different periods in their lives. Describe the circumstances surrounding each of these periods in which these two characters become involved. Then, examine how the first circumstances and the relationship these characters developed early in their lives impacted the circumstances surrounding their second meeting.

Essay Topic 3

Several times in the story, Penn seeks out the help of other people in order to move forward in both his investigation into the Payton murder and in his personal life.

a. Identify at least three times in the story in which Penn reaches out for help.

b. Compare and contrast each of these events in terms of the situation Penn is trying to understand, the effect of his asking for help, and the situation that immediately follows this time.

c. How might Penn's actions have impacted the story's plot if he hadn't reached out for help from others?

(see the answer keys)

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