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. What perjury does Sherman commit in this chapter?

2. What makes Sherman unhappy on the drive to the courthouse?

3. What does Roland say about the picture of Sherman and Judy the Detectives show him?

4. What were Henry and Roland doing when Henry was hit by the Mercedes, according to Roland?

5. What does Kramer think is keeping Cecil Hayden from getting a position at a better law firm?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens to the Lamb family at the end of the novel?

2. What is Tommy Killian and Quigley's plan to get proof of Maria's complicity in the hit-and-run?

3. As Kramer is interviewing Maria Ruskin, what does he realize he loves about his job?

4. Describe the story that Arthur Ruskin tells Peter Fallow at dinner.

5. Describe Lopwitz's reaction to the news of Sherman's arrest and what it means to Sherman.

6. What promise does Tommy Killian make to Sherman regarding his condo?

7. In what way does Shelly Thomas disagree with Kramer about the McCoy case?

8. What does the mayor decide regarding the McCoy case?

9. What does Sherman tell Judy about his relationship with Maria?

10. Why has no one heard of Roland Auburn even though he has been in the papers?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay comparing the character arcs of Sherman McCoy and Larry Kramer. Are the two men mirrors of each other in the novel? How do they both view their lives and the people who care about them? Does Kramer's resentment of the privileged WASP existence also indicate a desire to have that life?

Essay Topic 2

Tom Wolfe's Bonfire of the Vanities is famous for its honest and vicious portrayals of persons of all races. Under the heavy satire of figures like Reverend Bacon and Roland Auburn are some maudlin and disturbing observations about black urban poverty. Write an essay on this topic:

Part 1) Early in the novel, Sherman panics while at a payphone in the rain because he sees a young black man approaching him. What assumptions does Sherman make about New York? What does this say about the social divide in New York?

Part 2) When at last the truth of why Henry Lamb and Roland Auburn were together the night Henry was run down comes out, Weiss quickly buries it. Why was Henry hanging out with Roland? Why didn't he leave when things turned violent? What constant pressures were on this nonviolent young man?

Part 3) What happens to the Lamb family at the end of the novel? How are they the ultimate losers in this elaborate game of politics, media, and legal maneuvering?

Essay Topic 3

One of the reasons that Bonfire of the Vanities is regarded as such an acerbic satire is the way characters unabashedly relate to each other in terms of race. Wolfe tends to associate certain qualities with certain ethnic groups. Write an essay about the fraternity of the following three races. What major characters in the novel are of this ethnicity? What do they have in common? What do you think Wolfe is saying about this racial group?

Part 1) WASP

Part 2) Jewish

Part 3) Irish

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,098 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample