View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Chapter 2, how long has it been since there was a murder in Ford County?

2. By the time of the Battan Death March, how many men were left from the Twenty-Sixth Cavalry?

3. Where was Pete taken captive during his military service?

4. When does the Ford County grand jury convene to listen to evidence of the latest crimes?

5. How long do Joel, Florry, and Stella drive after a Christmas brunch in Chapter 12?

Short Essay Questions

1. How might snow affect the trial in Chapter 16?

2. In Chapter 2, what written instructions does Pete give Nineva to give Florry?

3. How does Pete kill Reverend Bell?

4. Who start arriving before Pete's execution and why?

5. Why did Nineva resent Liza when she first moved to the Banning home?

6. What does Jackie remember about her husband in Chapter 11?

7. How is the burying of Bell handled?

8. How and why did Pete and Liza marry?

9. In Chapter 5, what does Florry take to Pete at the jail?

10. How did Pete and Liza meet?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Pete has strong principles. What is revealed through events and characters about the type of man that Pete is? How would you describe Pete’s character? What contradictions can be seen about him?

Essay Topic 2

Miscegenation laws make it illegal for blacks and whites to have sexual relationships. Why is a grand jury asked to prosecute a white man and a black woman? How does the author use irony regarding this law to make a statement, and what might that statement be?

Essay Topic 3

How does the author use Errol McLeish and Jackie Bell to represent greed in the novel? What is the author's message to readers about greed?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 884 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample