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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 did Reader want done with his body after death?

2. How much did the mahogany casket cost?

3. What kind of car did the two teachers commit suicide in?

4. If he is cremated, what does Lynch want done with the ashes?

5. To what Irish hero did Lynch compare Russ Reader?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Sweeney approach the consuming of food delicacies?

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

3. Why did Janet Adkins ask Jack Kevorkian to assist in her suicide?

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

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

6. How did Lynch feel about the prospect of his loved ones feeling guilt at his funeral?

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

8. How did Lynch react to the body of the young man who shot himself in Chapter 9?

9. How does Lynch view a world in which certain deaths are acceptable (abortion, war, capital punishment)?

10. What lesson did Lynch want to teach Sweeney with his story of the man killed by the falling vehicle at the scrap metal yard?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Lynch discussed the criticisms faced by his profession from various authors and the media. Were these criticisms justified? Is there something inherent in the field that makes it impossible for "customers" to get a fair deal? Does preplanning a funeral help avoid some of the more difficult issues? Why do people criticize the profession as a whole while insisting that they themselves had a positive experience in the past? How does Lynch defend his profession?

Essay Topic 2

Houses used to be the location of many of life's most significant occurrences (birth, courtship, marriage, death and funeral preparation). Today, many American homes have rooms that are rarely used (living rooms) and rooms that appear to be nothing more than trophies (huge kitchens in homes where eating out is the norm). How has this change affected society? How has it affected the ability of families to remain close to one another? Are there any benefits to this arrangement? How has isolating key aspects of life from one another affected us?

Essay Topic 3

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?

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