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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. When was the Oak Grove Bridge declared unsafe for vehicular traffic?

2. How many days was Reader waked?

3. Before Kevorkian, how many "successful" suicides were men?

4. Who did Lynch want to serve as pallbearers?

5. In what German city did Sweeney study?

Short Essay Questions

1. What kind of music did Lynch want at his funeral?

2. How does Lynch view the current state of debate over abortion?

3. Describe Lynch's grandmothers.

4. How does Lynch describe people's different approaches to living life at the end of Chapter 8 and which approach did Sweeney take?

5. How do most people view undertakers, according to Lynch?

6. What statement does a casket, versus a simple coffin, make?

7. How did the funeral processions through town change when the Oak Grove bridge collapsed?

8. What did Lynch mean when he said that "in even the best of caskets, it never all fits"?

9. What did Lynch want from his funeral, when all was said and done?

10. What did Lynch see as the advantage of being at the midpoint of one's life?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Although he acknowledges that once he is dead, his opinion will not matter, Lynch provides a blueprint for his own funeral. Discuss the significance of the various aspects of the funeral as described in the last chapter. What is the significance of the time of year? the weather? the preferred services? the desire to have people remain at the graveside until the casket is lowered? What is the ultimate desire of Lynch for his funeral?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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