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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 is the name of the surgeon who cut off the head of a black soldier and autopsied it?

2. Who agrees to marry Duncan while visiting his old home?

3. Where is Catesby involved in a terrible battle in Part IV, Chapter 47?

4. What is the name of Silas's crew of blockade-runners?

5. What does the young Danzinger boy ask Alexander to do for him after it becomes evident the renegades are going to kill him?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do the Union soldiers tell Kizzy and Mingo after stopping them on the road as they leave Wilmington?

2. How does Marguerite take control of the situation when Mingo leaves Kizzy pregnant and distraught on the road out of Wilmington?

3. After being captured, why are the black soldiers pleading with the Confederates to be released?

4. What does Sallie realize about her Cousin Molly's attitude in Part IV, Chapter 50?

5. What do the Union soldiers take when they stop Marguerite and her servants on the road as they leave Wilmington?

6. What does the girl that is interviewing Marguerite tell her she is getting continual pressure to do in Part III, Chapter 39?

7. What does Silas tell Marguerite in a letter in Part IV, Chapter 61?

8. What does Jesse learn that the surgeon name Potts has done that upsets him?

9. While leading the A Company near Fairfax City, Virginia, what does the surgeon named Potts remind Jesse to have his men do?

10. What happens to the young Union soldier who stumbles into the camp of Alexander and the other renegades in Part IV, Chapter 54?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The book, "Jacob's Ladder: A Story of Virginia During the War", is set during the Civil War in the South. Several of the main characters are slaves, some characters are slave owners, and a few are even against slavery. Research and examine slavery before and during the Civil War. Where was slavery dominant in America? How were slaves treated? Was slavery the reason for the Civil War? How did slavery end? Did those for slavery accept the end of slavery right away?

Essay Topic 2

The war has caused tremendous changes not only in the characters but also in society. Each character deals with these changes in a different way. Analyze the theme of change in the novel, particularly how it pertains to society. How have these changes affected the characters? What changes have been for the better? What changes have been for the worse? Does something as catastrophic as war need to happen to bring about great change?

Essay Topic 3

Most of the characters in "Jacob's Ladder" have no idea what the war will do to their lives. Examine how the characters' first ideas of the war differ from the actual realities of the war. How do Duncan's fantasies really have nothing in common with the realities of war? How can someone's fantasy of something almost make the reality harder to bear? Is Alexander having a harder time dealing with his reality because of his preconceived notions of war?

(see the answer keys)

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