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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. In what town does the story take place?

2. Who does Ben have information on?

3. Where is the Southern man left after he is murdered?

4. Why does Berryman contact the men who hired the Southern man?

5. Who is Johnboy's sworn enemy?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the reader find out is the plot of the story after reading the Prologue?

2. In Part 2, why does Ochs return to Long Island, and what information is he given?

3. What does Ochs ask the guard at the mental institute to do for him, and what events follow his request?

4. Why is Ochs sent to Long Island?

5. Who is Johnboy Terrell and what is his relationship with the Southern man?

6. What does Ben Toy inform Ochs Jones about Thomas Berryman's last job when he was hired as a hit man?

7. How does Berryman get assigned the job to assassinate Jimmie Lee Horn?

8. When Ochs returns to Tennessee after visiting Ben in the mental institution, what does he learn about Berryman? Why is it important?

9. Describe Ben Toy's profession.

10. Explain the crime that Ben commits after accepting the order to kill Horn.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

When Berryman is preparing himself for the assassination of Horn, he notices that his hands are shaking. What does this tell readers about Berryman? Could shaking hands before committing a crime cause readers to feel unexpected sympathy towards him? Are there any other possibilities as to why Berryman's hands could be shaking before he goes to assassinate Horn?

Essay Topic 2

During Ochs's second meeting with Ben, Ben expresses why he was admitted to the mental institution. Why is Ben institutionalized? Who admits him? Was anything done in order to help Ben's depression?

Essay Topic 3

At the end of Part 7, readers find out where the dead body of Thomas Berryman is found. What events happened previously that leads readers to know who discarded his body? Who did it? Does the involvement of this particular person in Berryman's death lead readers to become suspicious of them?

(see the answer keys)

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