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

2. In what decade of life did most of the Lynch men die?

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

4. Before Kevorkian, how many attempted suicides were women?

5. In what year was Matthew Sweeney born?

Short Essay Questions

1. What characteristic of "successful" suicides did Lynch say he admired?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

10. What perspective did Lynch reach on the night his mother was buried?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the significance of Wesley Rice's work on the young girl who had been brutally murdered. How important was it that this work be done? Why did the mother insist on seeing her daughter one last time? How did Rice's "repair" work give the girl's body back to her family? Is the work done on corpses "barbaric," as Jessica Mitford claimed, or a kindness, as Lynch saw it? What kind of person does it take to do this kind of work?

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

Discuss Uncle Eddie's suicide cleanup business (note: there are actual businesses that focus on cleaning up scenes of violent deaths, including suicides and murders). How did Eddie's business provide society with a valuable service? How did the cleanup after these deaths usually get done before such services? How is it an act of kindness for an outsider to clean up the scene so that loved ones do not have to see it? How does this relate to the general services provided by funeral parlors and undertakers?

(see the answer keys)

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