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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 breaks Pickett's elbow and damages his knee?

2. How does Buddy take care of his hands?

3. What does Bellocq realize about how he treats Buddy?

4. Why does Webb investigate Bellocq?

5. What's Buddy's biggest fear?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do Jaelin and Buddy approach Buddy's affair with Robin similarly?

2. What was unfortunate for Pickett in his fight with Buddy?

3. While photographing prostitutes, how involved is Bellocq in his work?

4. Is Bellocq unstable?

5. At the end of Chapter 2, is a new crisis inevitable? Why?

6. Is Buddy helpless? How?

7. What is Buddy's relationship with Bellocq like?

8. What analogy does Buddy use to describe Webb's intervention?

9. What happens to Buddy's view of the women in his life at the end of Chapter 2? Why does this happen?

10. How does Buddy feel about coming back home?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

"Coming Through Slaughter" is an account of Buddy's slow decent into madness. Discuss Buddy's madness and why he became mad. What is his madness meant to say?

Essay Topic 2

The setting for Buddy's life in New Orleans is surrounded by dilapidation and depravity, although he doesn't necessarily see it this way. Discuss Buddy's evolving perception of his surroundings and what the setting adds to or reflects in the narrative.

Essay Topic 3

Buddy is very concerned with his hands. He is terrified of loosing them but does little to take care of them. Discuss Buddy's preoccupation with his hands. What do they represent? What do they mean to him? What is the symbolism of this?

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