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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. What evidence does Harris find and hide at the crime scene in Book One?

2. What do Isaac and Poe agree to do when they return to the car factory after the murder in Book One?

3. How is Poe's car described in the narrative?

4. How much money has Issac stolen from his father in Book One?

5. What does Harris warn Poe to do when he releases him from jail in Book Two?

Short Essay Questions

1. What importance does the setting of American Rust play in the story?

2. What is revealed through the encounter between Harris and Poe while Poe is in a holding cell in Book Two?

3. How is Billy Poe's introduction to the Fayette Prison described in Book Two?

4. What political struggles and conflicts plague Bud Harris in Book Two?

5. Describe the murder in Book One. What leads up to the murder?

6. How does the murder in Book One influence the characters of Isaac and Poe?

7. How does the theme of fatalism apply to Grace and Billy Poe in Book One?

8. How is Isaac English described when his character is introduced in Book One? What are Isaac's circumstances in the beginning of the novel?

9. The theme of fatalism plays a large part in American Rust. How does fatalism apply to the murder of Otto?

10. How is the character of Billy Poe described in Book One? What are his circumstances in the beginning of the novel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and analyze the character of Poe in American Rust. How is Poe's background described? Where is Poe living when his character is introduced? How does Poe's character evolve in the story? Where is Poe in the end of the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and analyze the character of Isaac in the novel. How old is Isaac? What are his intentions in the beginning of the narrative? How does Isaac's character evolve in the course of the story?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the motif of suicide in American Rust. What characters have committed, attempt to commit, or do commit suicide in the novel? Why do they commit suicide? What do you think this indicates?

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