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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 strikes the wagon as it crosses the ford in Chapter 35: “Vardaman”?

2. What is on fire in the beginning of Chapter 50: “Darl”?

3. What does Cash ask about whether it is safe when he is tended to on the riverbank in Chapter 37: “Darl”?

4. What do the Bundrens do to relieve Cash of the heat in his leg in Chapter 48: “Darl”?

5. While the family is at Peabody’s, Anse says he is going where in Chapter 59: “Cash”?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is indicated by Darl’s question to Jewel in Chapter 48: “Darl”? How does Jewel respond?

2. How is the timeline of the Bundren children described in Chapter 40: “Addie”?

3. What does Darl discuss in Chapter 57: “Darl”? What is symbolized through this monologue?

4. What suggestions are made for crossing the river in Chapter 31: “Tull”? How are the suggestions received?

5. How do the Bundrens make a cast for Cash in Chapter 46: “Darl”? What does this foreshadow?

6. What symbolism can be seen in Jewel Bundren’s actions in Chapter 36: “Tull”?

7. What does Vardaman think about the setting and situation in Chapter 56: “Vardaman”?

8. What is foreshadowed through Anse’s actions in Chapter 53: “Cash”?

9. What happens between Dewey Dell Bundren and MacGowan in Chapter 55: “MacGowan”?

10. What is symbolized and foreshadowed when the family passes the sign for New Hope in Chapter 30: “Dewey Dell”?

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 the unique narrative style in As I Lay Dying. What characters are also narrators in the novel? Why do you think the author employs different narrators? Are any narrators more reliable than others? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the character arc of Anse Bundren in As I Lay Dying. How does Anse feel about his wife's death in the beginning of the novel? What are Anse's family relationships like? What does the reader discover about Anse in the end of the novel?

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