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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. When Ballard drives home with Catherine and Vaughan in the backseat, what does he notice for the first time since his release from the hospital?

2. When Catherine asks Ballard where his car is after the police leave the studio parking lot, what does he tell her?

3. What does Vaughan ask Ballard to do when they got to Earls Court?

4. Why do the police signal to Vaughan when Ballard and Vaughan leave Ballard's studio?

5. What does Vaughan hold in his hand that he claims can help recreate the Mansfield, Camus, and Kennedy crashes?

Short Essay Questions

1. What kinds of photos are in the album Vaughan shows Ballard at Seagrave's house and what does Ballard notice about them?

2. At Seagrave's, what does Ballard deduce about Vaughan's photographs of Elizabeth Taylor and provides insight into why Vaughan followed Ballard?

3. Why doesn't Ballard intervene on Elizabeth Taylor's behalf when he knew what Vaughan was capable of attempting to hurt her?

4. Why is Ballard attracted to Gabrielle?

5. What does Ballard think of when he introduces Catherine to Vaughan and why is it relevant?

6. What type of questions from Vaughan's questionnaire is Ballard specifically drawn to?

7. What does Ballard fantasize about as he has sex with Gabrielle and what does it mean?

8. When Ballard and Vaughan arrive at the accident site involving a minor accident, what do they discover?

9. How do the prostitutes Vaughan picks up begin to change in appearance and why is it significant?

10. Why does Ballard begin to drive through the city in search of Vaughan?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Identify and discuss the plot and subplot of "Crash." Make sure you define the terms in your essay response.

1) What is the conflict of the novel?

2) What is the climax of the novel?

3) What is the novel's resolution?

Essay Topic 2

In "Crash," both Helen's husband and Vaughan die early in the novel. Ballard's recollections of Vaughan and meeting him through his accident that killed Helen's husband can be seen as a sort of elegy as he grieves for both himself (in being accountable for another person's death) as well as for his friend. Choose 3 major scenes and discuss the way he expresses his grief.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the uses of technology in "Crash."

1) What is the role of technology in the characters' lives?

2) How do the characters respond to and identify with technology?

3) How is technology a metaphor for evolution?

(see the answer keys)

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