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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. How many policemen arrive at Tom's house in Chapter 22?

2. Pete tells Amanda in Chapter 25 that which character had been brought in for questioning 10 years before due to his odd behavior?

3. In what position is Pete lying when Tom arrives home to find him in a pool of blood at the end of Chapter 52?

4. Who remembers in Chapter 45 that the front door has been left unlocked?

5. To what type of establishment do Karen and Tom go after dropping their respective sons off at school in Chapter 36?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. To whom does Tom tell his whole sordid Featherbank story in Chapter 36 and why?

5. How does Tom discover the "old mechanic's pit" (147) located under his garage floor in Chapter 27?

6. What does Chapter 40 reveal to be the significance of the name "Mister Night" (217)?

7. For what reason does Dyson accompany Tom in Chapter 29 when Tom retrieves Jake from school?

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

9. In what way is irony used within North's depiction of Amanda's feelings of respect for Pete?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss North's choice to tell the story of The Whisper Man using the first person point-of-view for Tom and a third person limited omniscient narrator for other narrators, such as the child-murderer, Amanda, Jake, and even Pete. What elements of the novel's themes lend themselves to this choice and what are North’s intended effects on the reader?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss North’s use of metaphor, simile, imagery, and other literary devices as a means to send particular thematic messages within the narrative of The Whisper Man.

Essay Topic 3

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

(see the answer keys)

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