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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 follows the Bundrens’ wagon as they travel in Chapter 44: “Vardaman”?

2. Armstid says in Chapter 43: “Armstid” that Jewel Bundren went to get Dr. Peabody but he was gone to Inverness, so who came back with Jewel?

3. What word from Chapter 27: "Darl" means tending to induce sleep?

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

5. Cash’s principle concern in Chapter 42: “Darl” is for the safety of what?

Short Essay Questions

1. What elements of the story are foreshadowed in Chapter 49: “Vardaman”?

2. How does Dr. Peabody react to Cash’s injury in Chapter 54: “Peabody”?

3. How is the river accident described through Vardaman’s perspective in Chapter 35: “Vardaman”?

4. How is Jewel’s arrival described from Darl’s perspective in Chapter 27: “Darl”?

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

6. What conflict almost arises in Chapter 52: “Darl”? Why?

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

8. What are Vernon Tull’s impressions as they cross the river in Chapter 33: “Tull”?

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

10. How does Cash react to his pain and injuries in Chapter 44: “Vardaman”? Where does the family stop for medicine?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the character of Addie Bundren in As I Lay Dying. Why do you think that the author chooses to include a chapter with Addie's first-person perspective? What does the reader learn about Addie in this chapter? What does the reader learn about Addie through the other characters?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the theme of family in the novel. How do the Bundren family members feel about one another? What is the “glue” that holds the family together? How do the family relationships change in the course of the story?

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