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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. Who says they are free?

2. Who spent time in an insane asylum?

3. What reason does Mason give for his finding a lover for Tarwater's mother?

4. What about Tarwater makes fury rise in Rayber?

5. Who said, "A dead man is not going to do you any good"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Bishop look like the first time Tarwater sees him?

2. Why does Rayber suddenly duck his head and hide when he is watching Lucette?

3. How does Tarwater walk as he walks to the museum with Rayber and Bishop?

4. Why does Rayber decide to go to Powderhead with Bishop?

5. When Meeks asks what line of work Tarwater will get into, what does he say?

6. Why does Rayber see himself fleeing with Lucette?

7. How does Tarwater respond when he runs into Rayber after leaving the church?

8. Why does Rayber bring Tarwater breakfast in bed?

9. How is it obvious that Tarwater is unfamiliar with telephones?

10. At the end of the novel, what does Tarwater discover about Mason's body?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Tarwater's internal conflict is centered on baptizing/not baptizing Bishop. Follow this conflict from the beginning of the novel to the end. How do other people affect Tarwater's conflict? How does Tarwater argue for and against baptizing Bishop? Discuss and analyze the resolution.

Essay Topic 2

The three sections of "The Violent Bear It Away" feature Tarwater in three different settings and under the "care" of different family members, including himself. Compare and contrast the ways that each section helps develop Tarwater and reflects Tarwater as a character.

Essay Topic 3

Analyze the motif of death in "The Violent Bear It Away". What does each death represent and reflect? How are characters described through death? How does death drive this novel?

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