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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. In Chapter 31, Jake unnerves his father Tom by asking, "Did they find him, Daddy?" (165). About whom is Jake speaking?

2. Tom tells Pete in Chapter 34 that Sally, Pete's ex-wife and Tom's mother, is what?

3. Chapter 50 reveals that Rebecca's cause of death had been due to what?

4. Who provides a place for Tom and Jake to stay while their house is still considered an active crime scene?

5. Who was the official tenant of the house on Garholt Street in 1997, the year Frank Carter committed his murders?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

5. On what basis is Norman arrested in Chapter 33 and how does Amanda feel about the event?

6. Describe the police's response to Tom's call about the man trying to get into his house.

7. What type of scene do Karen and Tom find back at Tom's house at the end of Chapter 52?

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

9. In what way does the theme of betrayal arise within one of the chapters in Part Four narrated by Tom?

10. What was Frank Carter's murder signature and what hypothesis does Pete create about it in Chapter 49?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How is the topic of obsession treated within The Whisper Man and how does its treatment relate to the novel's depicted messages?

Essay Topic 2

What is the function of Norman Collins's character within the novel? Discuss the characterization methods used by North in depicting Collins and include in your discussion the reasons that North portrays him in these particular ways.

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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