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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 time of day does Paul die?

2. Where is the change in Paul most noticed on his horse?

3. Who is Paul winning money for?

4. When did Mother last have the luxury she got for herself in the winter?

5. Why is Paul so nervous about the race after his mother's birthday?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is symbolic in Paul's death?

2. How is Malabar significant to the story?

3. How does Paul choose the winners of the horse races?

4. Why isn't Paul personally present at the Derby?

5. What happens after Paul tells Mother the winning name for the Derby?

6. What keeps Mother at the party when she wants to leave?

7. What does the house say to Paul after his mother gets her birthday present?

8. What does Mother do when she gets her birthday present?

9. What does Mother get for her birthday?

10. Why does Paul think he was able to predict all the horse winners?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The characters in this book all had their own goals and motivations. Select four characters and write their main motivation throughout the book, and how this goal affected the characters around them.

Essay Topic 2

What are your feelings about luck after reading this story, and how did the importance placed on luck by the main characters in this book change that ideal?

Essay Topic 3

Despair was a theme that was placed in a number of sensitive places in this plot. What are some of these places, and what role did despair play in this book?

(see the answer keys)

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