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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. Who was the royal person who came to see Houdini fly his plane?
2. What plea does Shaw's mother want him to make in court but he flatly refuses?
3. Why is the girl tied by a rope to the old man's wrists?
4. What does Father manufacture?
5. What does Evelyn do with most of her money?
Short Essay Questions
1. What are the lead workers doing as Perry comes leisurely behind?
2. What idea does Tateh have that makes them money.
3. Explain how Harry K. Shaw gets to see Harry Houdini.
4. How does Evelyn lose The Girl?
5. Why does socialite Mrs. Stuyvesant Fish bring Houdini and circus freaks to her house?
6. What does Evelyn see when she goes with Tateh to a socialist meeting?
7. What are Tateh's plans for him and The Girl as they leave New York?
8. What sight as they sail out of New York Harbor depresses Father?
9. What is it that Evelyn Nesbit does not understand when she sees The Girl tied to her father?
10. What is Mother's concern about Younger Brother?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Gather information of President Howard Taft and write a short paper about him. Taft's rise to power corresponded with the turn of the century idea that obesity, especially in men, was a sign of material success. Taft weighed over 300 pounds and it is said that a special bathtub had to be installed in the White House to accommodate him. Your paper should include characters in the book as examples of men who fit that accepted image of success. By contrast Houdini and Younger Brother are of athletic build and represent change in the novel. Explain.
Essay Topic 2
Describe the rags-to-riches story of Tateh, aka Baron Ashkenazy. Tateh's story is the embodiment of the American dream--the poor immigrant who eventually achieves success. While you write this account focus on the moral shift in Tateh's thinking. Note the difference in his uptight morality that drove his wife and Evelyn away in the early part of the story and his romping with Mother in Atlantic City as the reinvented Baron Ashkenazy. There are even sexual overtones to the scene where they are searching for The Boy and The Girl and eventually they marry.
Essay Topic 3
Write a paper on the subject of art as seen in the novel. Take it from Tateh's silhouettes to Morgan's collection. Tateh's cutout silhouettes and movie books are art for the people. On the other hand, Morgans fabulous art collection are limited to the upper classes. Tateh's art leads him to film animation and making movies. Morgan's art is nearly destroyed in one quick action. Mother's association with art is limited to putting up Egyptian wallpaper. Your paper should discuss how art influences people and the value of art as an equalizer.
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This section contains 729 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) |
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