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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. Which of the following is listed as Lester Ballard's lineage?
2. Why did the young Lester Ballard beat up the Finney boy?
3. What words does John sing from his cell regularly?
4. What does the sleeping woman throw at Ballard?
5. Why does Lester Ballard's friend Darfuzzle speaks in a garbled way?
Short Essay Questions
1. Why is Lester Ballard ejected from his first game at the carnival?
2. Describe the scene created by McCarthy at the beginning of the novel.
3. Describe the interchange that Ballard has with the Dumpkeeper's blonde daughter.
4. Describe Lester's new home.
5. Why does the unnamed man in Chapter 5 (pp. 17-18) decide he does not like Lester Ballard?
6. How do the Deputy's plans for the day change in Chapter 17 (pp. 48-49)?
7. What does the disfigured child do to Ballard's gift?
8. What deal does Lester Ballard try to broker with Fred Kirby?
9. Why does Ballard abruptly leave the Dumpkeeper's house in Chapter 16?
10. What process does the blacksmith use to sharpen Ballard's axe head?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Write an essay about the character of Greer and his tenuous relationship with Ballard. Divide the essay into two parts. The first should focus on Greer's actually relationship with Ballard, confined primarily to one meeting on the street. The second and more extensive portion should consist of Ballard's private delusional feud with him How does this culminate? How much do we actually know about Ballard's nemesis?
Essay Topic 2
Cormac McCarthy is widely renowned for his evocative descriptions of the power of nature. His work seems to invoke a cruel God that allows human beings to hurt each other and then punishes them with the elements. Write an essay about two of the major natural events in the novel and how they coincide with the personal evil of Lester Ballard:
Part 1) How does the fire in Ballard's shack reflect the destruction of his soul within the context of his personal actions? Examine this event and the events surrounding it.
Part 2) How does the flood and torrential rain coincide with Ballard's complete degeneration into madness? Describe both the effects of the flood and the personal toll it takes on Ballard.
Essay Topic 3
In the novel, Lester Ballard preys upon the young, in part because they are heedless and in part because he desires them. The novel portrays these young people as alluring, unwise, and ultimately passive. Write an essay about Ballard's victims:
Part 1) How does the first couple that Ballard witnesses having sex in a car (outside of his shack) foreshadow his future victims? How does he react to them, and what ultimately happens to them?
Part 2) How often is the device of young people having sex in parked cars used in the novel? What is the author's attitude to these young people? Examine the different instances of this in the book and how these people generally end up.
Part 3) How is Ralph's daughter different from the other victims of Lester Ballard in the novel? How is her situation different from, say, the couple he kills in their car near the end of the book?
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This section contains 1,065 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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