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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. How many boys in the Gowrie family?

2. What does Mr. Gowrie pull out from his undershirt?

3. What does Gavin say lynching Lucas would now amount to?

4. How much did Crawford bet Lucas that his gun would not shoot?

5. What are the two women doing outside the jail?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what way are the Gowrie's only a small step above black people?

2. Why does Charles hold such respect for Miss Habersham?

3. What is Uncle Gavin's take on the civil rights struggle in the South?

4. How is the sheriff proven wrong in chapter six?

5. Who does the sheriff think the man is who passed Charles on the road to the cemetery?

6. Why did the Gowrie's not lynch Lucas behind the store?

7. In what way does Faulkner portray Miss Habersham as a strong woman?

8. Why does the Sheriff think that Lucas could not of killed Vinson?

9. Why is Charles' father so angry?

10. Why do you think Charles is so enraged by the behavior of the crowd?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the novel's chronological setting.

1) What were the main concerns during the 1940s. How does Faulkner express these concerns?

2) In what ways do you think the novels meaning would change if it was set in today's society?

Essay Topic 2

Faulkner often hints at a divide between the North and South of America. Using one example in the book discuss how Faulkner shows this divide. What do you think caused this divide? Is the divide still there today?

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the story Charles thinks he owes Lucas a favor and there are also many references to the southern gentlemen code. What is the southern gentlemen code? In what way does Faulkner present the southern gentlemen code as a backward and damaging tradition? In what ways do you think the characters and setting would lose and gain from the breakdown of the code?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 776 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample