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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 the story "Revelation," what does Mrs. Turpin say is the goal of all black people?

2. In the story "Greenleaf," who does the bull belong to?

3. In "The Lame Shall Enter First," why does Norton often begin crying?

4. In the story "The Comforts of Home," how is Thomas like his deceased father?

5. In the story "The Comforts of Home," what does Thomas ask the sheriff to do?

Short Essay Questions

1. In the story "Greenleaf," how does Mrs. May discover Mrs. Greenleaf's faith healing practice?

2. In "The Lame Shall Enter First," what does Norton do when looking through the telescope alone at night?

3. In the story "The Comforts of Home," why is Thomas mournful that his father has died but "had not been able to endure him in life"?

4. In the story "Parker's Back," what inspires Parker to get his first tattoo?

5. At the end of the story "The Comforts of Home," what does the sheriff surmise actually happened to Thomas' mother?

6. In the story "Judgment Day," what is the only time that Tanner has "feelings of warmth" for his daughter?

7. Describe the tractor accident in the story "Parker's Back."

8. In the story "The Enduring Chill," how does the author characterize the relationship between Mary George and Asbury?

9. Describe the white-trash woman in the story "Revelation."

10. In the story "Judgment Day," what is the joke Tanner plans on playing on Coleman and Hooten?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

"Everything That Rises Must Converge" is both the title of this collection of short stories and one of the component stories. In your essay:

1) explain what this phrase means as it relates to the novel as a whole;

2) explain how the phrase fits the entire novel;

3) demonstrate how the author develops this idea.

Be sure to use specific examples from the stories to support your ideas.

Essay Topic 2

Flashbacks play an important role in the development of characters in this novel. Choose two of the flashbacks presented in the novel and:

1) describe each flashback;

2) describe the significance of the flashback on the person remembering the scene;

3) analyze the placement of this flashback at this point in the narrative--why does the author choose to include the flashback at this point in the story?

Be sure to use specific examples from the stories to support your ideas.

Essay Topic 3

Imagine that two of the characters from different stories were to meet. Write an essay describing what their meeting would be like focusing on how they would interact, what they might do together and what sort of relationship they might develop.

Be sure to use specific examples from the stories to support your ideas.

(see the answer keys)

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