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 which state did the accident occur?

2. What kind of food made Lynch and Patterson sick in Ireland?

3. How old was the boy whose mother strangled him with a belt?

4. How many of Lynch's eight siblings are part of the funeral industry?

5. Why do undertakers massage the body?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did Lynch enjoy not having access to indoor plumbing when he first visited his cousins in Ireland?

2. Why do most people never pay attention to the figure Lynch called "The Big One"?

3. What were the different ways in which loved ones reacted to being asked to collect the ashes of the deceased?

4. How does Lynch view the work done by his colleague Wesley Rice with the young, murdered girl?

5. What are the unique problems faced by undertakers trying to "advertise" their services?

6. What did Lynch lament about the modern homes Americans live in?

7. What did Lynch consider the mark of a good faith leader?

8. How did Lynch convey the sensuality of the preparation and eating of the artichoke?

9. What is the essential difference between burying the old and burying infants?

10. What did Lynch mean when he stated that "one hand washes the other" in Chapter 1?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Lynch's parents were fundamentally different when it came to raising the kids. His father was obsessed about potential dangers and would have placed a short leash on all of them if possible. His mother left her worries to God. How did those two ways of child rearing affect the kids? Given the parents' beliefs and life experiences, would it have been possible for either one to act differently? Could there have been a happy medium between the two extremes or was that impossible? Did the two approaches complement one another or interfere with one another?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the significance of Stephanie's tragic death. Recall that the name on the stone that killed her was the same as the one on the stone next to which she was buried. Was that significant? Was it merely chance or did it provide some insight into the role of faith and coincidence? Discuss the individual choices mentioned by Lynch (the hand of God, the devil did it, etc.). Are any of them satisfactory? Could all of them be right?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the artichoke poem described in Chapter 5. How did the poet use sexual imagery in describing the vegetable? Why did he choose to describe an artichoke instead of a woman? Why did so many people respond to the poem in the way the author clearly intended? Is there some unspoken connection between food and sex?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,104 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample