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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 is the major revelation that occurs at the end of Chapter 31?

2. At the end of Chapter 24, Tom decides to visit which character to get some answers about Dominic Barnett?

3. How many drinks do Tom and Karen have at the bar before they decide to cut the evening short in Chapter 50?

4. From whose perspective are the events of Chapter 44 presented?

5. What happens to Norman Collins at the end of Chapter 33?

Short Essay Questions

1. For what reason does Tom leave Jake at home in Chapter 47 and who comes over to watch Jake?

2. What sight feels "invasive and wrong" (178) to Tom when he sees the police searching the house on Garholt Street?

3. In what way is Norman Collins revealed to be a red herring in Chapter 37 of the novel?

4. Discuss an instance when North uses a simile to create a vivid characterization of a marginal character, such as Norman.

5. For what reason does Pete feel compelled to view Tony's body at the city's pathology unit?

6. Whose perspective does the narrator present in Chapter 37 and what is the intended effect of the choice?

7. What new lead comes to the police department's attention in Chapter 44 and why?

8. What does Pete decide before his final prison visit with Frank Carter in Chapter 42?

9. Who was Dominic Barnett, according to Pete's accounts?

10. In what way does North portray Pete as both a skeptic and a dreamer?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the interplay between the resolution of The Whisper Man and one of the novel's main messages. How does North make connections between these elements and how does their juxtaposition help them get across one main message of the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Trace the characterization arc of Tom’s character throughout the novel The Whisper Man. Discuss whether Tom is a round or flat character and whether Tom is a static or dynamic character.

Essay Topic 3

William Faulkner once famously claimed that the most important literature deals with the subject of the human heart in conflict with itself. Explain how the theme of Human versus Self is demonstrated within North’s novel The Whisper Man. Create a decisive, arguable claim and prove it with quotes from the novel.

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