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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 does Frank feel about Ruth's sudden departure from the family home?

2. When the sheriff calls Frank onto the porch and asks him a series of questions, about whom are the questions?

3. When Jake refers to the possible identity of Ariel's murderer, Frank realizes he has been in denial about the possibility of foul play in Ariel's death. Prior to this moment, what has Frank been thinking happened to Ariel?

4. Before Frank goes back home, he hears a strange sound. What does he finally realize is the source of this sound?

5. What object does the sheriff hope to find in Karl's possession if his search warrant is granted?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the first action Frank takes when he gets home as a result of listening to Nathan's sermon?

2. What is the cause of Lise's heightened anxiety and frantic behavior when Nathan goes to Emil's house to talk to Ruth?

3. What, if any, clues do Karl, Frank, Jake, the sheriff, and Officer Doyle find when they get to Sibley Park, the site of the bonfire party?

4. How do the themes of racism and larger injustice surface in the aftermath of Ariel's disappearance?

5. When Frank and Jake try to overhear yet another conversation at Emil's and Lise's house, their plan is thwarted. What is the cause of their plan failing?

6. What secret does Karl finally reveal to Nathan that makes it fairly clear that he had no hand in Ariel's murder?

7. What are the differences in how each member of the Drum family feels about Karl's new status as a murder suspect?

8. In what ways are the complicated nature of the grief cycle demonstrated to the reader through the experiences of Frank and Jake?

9. Why is Frank so surprised to see Ruth and Gus sitting together at the kitchen table when he and the rest of the family return from Sibley Park?

10. What news does Gus bring to Ruth while Nathan is at the funeral home making arrangements for Ariel's funeral?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Vices often play a role in the narrative, with some characters engaging in drinking, smoking, and gambling, among other activities often considered immoral, or at least troublesome. How does the author use characters' vices in contrast with the themes of faith and innocence within the novel?

Essay Topic 2

There are 24 instances of the word "true" within the novel. How does the motif of truth function within the novel and what is Krueger's message regarding truth, lies, and hypocrisy?

Essay Topic 3

Often within literature, characters with disabilities are presented as being wholly innocent, good, and infallible. Krueger does not fall prey to these generalities, instead depicting flaws and problems in the lives of both the abled and the disabled. Choose two different characters with disabilities, analyzing the characterization methods Krueger uses to present them and stating his purposes in doing so.

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