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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. In what month does the novel begin?

2. What is the name of the motorist Silas stops on his way to the cabin in the woods where he and his mother Alice had lived?

3. From what disease is Larry's mother Ina suffering?

4. What is the outcome of Larry's encounter with the masked man?

5. What are Cecil and Carl trying to do to Cindy when Silas intervenes?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what way is the theme of family bonds underscored within Chapter 1?

2. What event occurs that prompts Silas to go check on Larry?

3. How is the theme of courage demonstrated within Chapter 5?

4. What details does Franklin use in order to indicate to the reader just how small Cabot, Mississippi really is and how it functions as such?

5. Describe French's character.

6. In what setting and era does Chapter 5 take place?

7. What had been the impetus for Silas and his mother's move out of south Chicago?

8. In what way does Franklin compare and contrast the respective vehicles belonging to Silas and to Larry?

9. What does Silas ultimately find underneath the flock of buzzards?

10. What nickname do the people of Chabot, Mississippi call Silas?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the novel's message concerning the link between guilt and responsibility?

Essay Topic 2

What is the function of Carl's character within the novel? Discuss the characterization methods used by Franklin in depicting Carl and include in your discussion the reasons that Franklin portrays Carl in these particular ways.

Essay Topic 3

Look carefully at the passages of the novel that describe the close relationship between fear and persecution. What is Franklin's purpose for discussing at length the nature of the connection between these two themes?

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