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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. Why does Rayber leave his house at the end of chapter 4?

2. What does Rayber call the aptitude test?

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

4. Who said that their parents did not teach them anything, except "not to wet the bed"?

5. What does Tarwater say about the teachings of Mason?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the schoolteacher do when he first hears that Mason is dead?

2. At the end of chapter 6, how does Rayber feel about Tarwater?

3. What does the stranger's voice tell Tarwater about burying Mason?

4. Why does Tarwater eat so much at lunch before fishing?

5. Why does Rayber say Tarwater can not eat?

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

7. Why does Tarwater move toward Bishop when he jumps in the water fountain at the park?

8. What condition is Tarwater in when he wakes up in the woods?

9. What does Rayber say Mason did to Tarwater?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

This novel is set in the American South. Describe the setting, culture, and ways of the American South and how it impacted the novel and characters.

Essay Topic 2

The characters in "The Violent Bear It Away" were often called different names. Rayber was also "the schoolteacher", and Mason was often called "the old man", for examples. Analyze what the different names imply and which characters used varying names to refer to other characters. Were there power struggles evident, or judgments passed? What is the importance of a name?

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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 666 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample