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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. Where did Jonas go to attend college after the Colonel’s death?

2. In what year did the Colonel die, according to Jeanne in Chapter Seventeen?

3. What year is it when William Blount and his sons disappear from their farm near the McCullough ranch?

4. How old is Peter in the diary entry from Chapter Three?

5. What is the date of Peter McCullough’s first diary entry in Chapter Three?

Short Essay Questions

1. What prompts Jeanne’s decision to side with Phineas in Chapter Twenty?

2. How would you describe the narrative style of the first three chapters of the novel?

3. What time period is Chapter Four set in? How old is Eli, and what position does he have within his family?

4. What gender biases does Jeanne face growing up, as seen in Chapters Fourteen through Seventeen?

5. How is the theme of ethnic bias illustrated in Chapters Nine through Thirteen?

6. What are Jeanne’s perceptions of her classmates at the girl’s boarding school in Chapter Seventeen?

7. How is the theme of gender bias illustrated in Chapters Nine through Thirteen?

8. How does Jeanne perceive her father’s death?

9. What items are taken when Eli’s family’s home is ambushed by the Indians in Chapter Four? Why are they taken?

10. What information does Phineas present to Jeanne when she visits him in Austin in Chapter Twenty?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze and discuss the theme of “America’s creation myth” in The Son. How would you describe your personal idea of the creation myth of America? How is this myth displayed in the novel? Do you think that author Philipp Meyer brings up questions of the myth of America in the course of his story? How?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and discuss the characters of Corkie and Jonas in the novel. Where does Jeanne meet Corkie? What are her impressions of this character? How are Jeanne and Jonas similar? How do these characters differ?

Essay Topic 3

Describe and analyze the character of Maria Garcia in the novel. How old is Maria when she appears at Peter’s doorstep in Chapter Thirty? How long has it been since Peter has seen Maria? What are Maria’s objectives in coming to the McCullough ranch?

(see the answer keys)

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