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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 is Lettice Wood?

2. Who shows impatience in Chapter 7 to clear the murder investigation?

3. Who is in charge of the murder investigation, as Rutledge learns at the end of Chapter 1?

4. Which villager does Rutledge recall in Chapter 4 that he saw during his own time in the war?

5. How is the murder victim in this novel killed?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Wilton refuse to answer questions about Catherine Tarrant? What does he chose to talk about instead?

2. Who does Rutledge give money to at the end of Chapter 6? For what reason?

3. What does Wilton deny doing the morning of the murder that goes directly against eye witness testimony?

4. What does Mavers lecture about in public that expresses his unhappiness with the aristocracy in England and particularly Colonel Harris?

5. What does Rutledge note as odd in Wilton's behavior toward Lettice in the aftermath of Harris' murder?

6. Who is Helena Sommers? What is unusual about her living arrangements?

7. What does Rutledge find unusual about Lettice Wood's manner in Chapter 2?

8. Who is Bowles? Why does he dislike Rutledge?

9. What does Rutledge think of the reunion between Lettice Wood and Captain Wilton in Chapter 9?

10. Why was Scotland Yard called in to investigate the murder of Colonel Harris?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does Lettice reveal about her relationship with Harris? How did this changing relationship lead to a fight between Harris and Lettice? Harris and Wilton? How could this argument have been motive for murder? Is it? Why does Lettice fail to tell this story to Rutledge until late in the novel? What is Lettice trying to hide? Has Lettice done something wrong? Has Harris? What might the public have though had this truth come out more publicly?

Essay Topic 2

Who is Ian Rutledge? Whose voice does he hear in his head? Why is he often surprised others cannot hear this voice? Why does Rutledge hear voices? Where has Rutledge been? What experience has caused Rutledge to hear this voice in his head? What was he before this experience? Who expects Rutledge to fail now that he has returned? Why? What does Rutledge think of his own chances of success in his current situation?

Essay Topic 3

What is split personality? What causes it? Who in this novel suffers split personality? How did it come about? What trauma brought it on? What are the personalities in this fractured person's mind? How does this character deal with this? Why does this character take an ax to Royston? Why does this character kill him/herself? What confession does this character make before dying?

(see the answer keys)

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