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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 year was St. Stephen martyred?

2. How did Jessica Mitford refer to undertakers' work on human bodies?

3. What style poem did Nugent write?

4. How many golf courses opened in Milford in the course of a year?

5. What did Lynch have a drink of every night?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did the modern amenities (toilet, television, etc.) change life in the old Irish cottage?

2. Why was Lynch's father fond of quoting Gladstone?

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

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

5. Of all the choices offered by Lynch to explain Stephanie's death, which one seemed to be the one he would choose?

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

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

8. According to Lynch, why do people find it important to have bodies to bury?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Lynch quotes Gladstone as stating that he could tell how a people respected the laws of the land by how they treated their dead. Do you agree with this? What does the way in which society treats its dead say about that society? Does it go beyond simply obeying laws? How does a society's way of "caring" for the dead reflect its attitude toward life? How do you think modern American society treats its dead and how does this reflect our overall society?

Essay Topic 2

In the first chapter, Lynch repeatedly states that "the dead don't care" and that only the living care what happens to the body. Why are the dead valuable to the living? Why do the living feel the need to have ceremonies and other ways to recognize someone who no longer cares? In what ways are funeral services really for the living? Would it really matter what we do with the dead?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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