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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 sitting with Pa on the back porch in Chapter 3: "Darl"?

2. Whose coffin is being constructed in Chapter 1: "Darl"?

3. Who is driving the wagon in Chapter 25: "Darl"?

4. Who does Dewey Dell sit next to in the wagon in Chapter 25: "Darl"?

5. What is notable about Dewey Dell's narrative style in Chapter 7: "Dewey Dell"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Anse Bundren complain about Jewel in Chapter 26: “Anse”? How does Darl respond when he sees Jewel?

2. What scenario does Dewey Dell recollect in Chapter 7: “Dewey Dell”?

3. What is indicated by Kate Tull’s concern about the cakes that don’t sell in Chapter 2: “Cora”?

4. How are Cash Bundren’s feelings for his father illustrated through his actions in Chapter 17: “Darl”?

5. How is Anse Bundren characterized in Chapter 5: “Darl”? How does Jewel differ from his father?

6. What is Tull's relationship to the Bundrens? What role does he play in the story?

7. How does Peabody feel about his objective at the Bundren residence in Chapter 11: “Peabody”?

8. What conversation are Vernon Tull and Anse Bundren engaged in, in the beginning of Chapter 8: “Tull”?

9. What is the main setting of As I Lay Dying? Where does the story begin?

10. What is significant about Vardaman’s assessment of his mother in Chapter 15: “Vardaman”?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the author's use of irony in As I Lay Dying. What are examples of dramatic irony in the novel? What are examples of situational irony? How does each example in the novel serve the story?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Addie's death and its impact on the Bundren household. How does each of Addie's children cope with her death? How does Addie's death impact Anse? How does it affect Cora and Tull?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Darl's arrest in the end of the novel. Why is he taken away? Where is he presumably taken? How does his family respond to Darl's actions and his being taken away?

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