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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 was stolen from Fate during the night?

2. What season is setting in in Chapter 39 (pp. 136-137)?

3. According to the grocer, how long will it take Ballard to pay off his debt at the present rate?

4. What does Ballard leave in Ralph's house when he burns it down?

5. Where is Ralph when Ballard shows up at his house?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what state is the town in this section?

2. What does Ballard realize about the Ralph's idiot baby?

3. How does Ballard subsist as the harsh winter descends?

4. How does Ballard's situation change in this section?

5. What wakes Lester Ballard the night after his shopping spree in town?

6. Describe Ballard's appearance at the end of this section.

7. How does Ballard react to Ralph's daughter's rejection of his advances?

8. What does Ballard find in the running car on the side of the road?

9. What imaginary conversations does Ballard have in the woods?

10. Why does Ballard go to Blount County?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Do you think that Lester Ballard is an essentially evil man or simply a weak individual driven to extremity by hardship? Write an essay in three parts focusing on two instances in the novel that illustrate your position and one that refutes the opposite view. Be sure to focus on his crimes, childhood, and general mental state.

Essay Topic 2

Child of God is essentially a chronicle of Lester Ballard's descent into unbridled madness, stemming from his need for human contact. Write about the stages of his degeneration and what they say about him as person:

Part 1) Ballard's run-in with the Sleeping Woman on Frog Mountain is his first instance of violence against a woman. What transpires between Ballard and the woman? How does this reflect an essential desire within him?

Part 2) How do Ballard's numerous returns to the idling car with the dead couple illustrate a decision on his part? What does he decide? What has he realized about himself?

Part 3) Examine Ballard's interchange with Ralph's daughter, culminating in his murdering her. How does this episode illustrate his discomfort with human interaction and the breaking down of inhibitions to his violent sexual appetites?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about the Dumpkeeper. This essay should be comprised of three paragraphs. The first should focus on his living situation and how it reflects a weakness of resolve. The second should involve his crimes. In what ways is he as perverse as Ballard? The final paragraph should be an examination of the enabling relationship that he and Ballard have.

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