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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 Chapter 3, what did Roy berate his son over?

2. In Chapter 2, what is Roy said to have hated?

3. When Roy and Ada first arrived at their land, where did Ada live?

4. How long was Ada in labor with her first child?

5. Where does the man who approaches Sandy in Chapter 1 say he is from?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Sandy think Roy chose the plot of land that he did?

2. Who approaches Sandy Roscoe at the beginning of the book, and why?

3. How did Lyman stay in touch with Edith after leaving her behind on the farm?

4. How did Ada and Hannah become friends?

5. What did John see in the field as he and Sandy drove past the Goodnough farm in Chapter 6?

6. How did Roy try to manipulate his daughter into refusing John's proposal?

7. What did Wenzel Gerdts tell John about Lyman?

8. How is Roy Goodnough described in the first three chapters of the book?

9. Why did Edith decide not to marry John?

10. What did the doctor do to help Roy, and what was the lasting effect of his accident?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the motif of dependence in the novel "The Tie That Binds." Who depends on whom? How does this affect the characters who have others who are dependent on them? Discuss Lyman's and Roy's dependence on Edith. How does this affect Edith?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Haruf's use of the flashback. Is it an effective way to learn about the past before the novel's start?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the death motif in the novel "The Tie That Binds." What deaths take place throughout the narrative? How do these deaths affect the principle characters of the novel? Is there any deeper meaning behind any of the deaths which take place in "The Tie That Binds"?

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