View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who does the gang that Poe has been hanging out with in prison ask him to beat up in Book Three?

2. What does Harris promise to Grace in the end of Book Four?

3. Who is the wife of a wealthy local businessman that meets Grace at the bar in Book Four?

4. What does the prisoner demand from Poe's tray in Book Three?

5. What does the justice of the peace suggest that Harris do in Book Three?

Short Essay Questions

1. What ultimatum does Billy Poe face with the white prison gang in Book Three? What is demonstrated through this ultimatum?

2. What does Poe decide to do at the end of Book Three? Why?

3. What is significant about Isaac's use of the phrase "Badge of Honor" in Book Four?

4. What foreshadowing is revealed through Poe's inner monologues in Book Four?

5. What inner conflicts does Grace Poe face in the beginning of Book Three?

6. What internal conflict does Poe face while in solitary confinement in Book Four?

7. How is the theme of decay illustrated in Book Three of American Rust?

8. How has Issac's character evolved in Book Three? How are the changes in Isaac's character revealed?

9. What is Lee's response after a police officer comes to look for her brother in Book Three?

10. What is illustrated through the theft of Isaac's money in Book Three?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the major conflicts in American Rust. What is the central conflict of the novel? What are the internal conflicts faced by the main characters? What conflicts arise between the protagonists?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and discuss Isaac's journey in the narrative. Where does Isaac travel to and how does he get there? Whom does Isaac meet along his journey? How does Isaac's journey change him as a character?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 955 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample