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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. What disease did Lynch's father have outbreaks of?

2. In what era did Gladstone live?

3. At what time did Mil Hornsby's wife call to announce his death?

4. To what state was Stephanie's family heading when the accident occurred?

5. In what magazine was Robertson trying to get published?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did the Lynch brothers take care of their father's body rather than allow a local undertaker to do the job?

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

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

4. How did Lynch "resolve" his feelings about the existence of God?

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

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

7. What was Lynch's view of the notion that the corpse is just an empty shell?

8. Why was Henry Nugent unable to get relief from his heartbreak following his divorce?

9. How did Lynch's mother and father differ in their reactions to the normal "threats" of childhood?

10. Why did Lynch say some cultural groups (immigrant Irish, Diaspora Jews, African-Americans) actually"enjoy" funerals?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

Lynch discussed how society has accepted certain deaths in the names of choice, justice, and God. How does this willingness to accept the end of life in some cases affect society as a whole? How does a society determine where to draw the line? How does this attitude affect attitudes toward life itself? Why do people who accept some death choices utterly reject others? Is Lynch right when he states that primitive humans had a more civilized attitude toward life and death?

Essay Topic 3

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?

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