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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 does Will propose that he do for Slocum's law office?

2. What happened to Allison's father, Walter?

3. Who does Allison think Will is when he first arrives at the greenhouse?

4. How does Kitty find Will sleeping in his car?

5. What does Allison do for Will after his fall?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens in the secret room that Jack Curl shows Will at the convalescent home?

2. What skills do the three old guys who Will befriends in the convalescent home possess?

3. What happened to the tiger skeleton that used to be in the cave?

4. What are the two things that Will has to tell Allison when he returns to the greenhouse?

5. Why does Will get into a fight with Kitty at the nursing home?

6. What plan do Allison and Will make for their futures?

7. Where does Will take Allison when they leave the greenhouse?

8. When Will is thinking things over in his Mercedes, what does he decide the name of the century should be?

9. What psychological breakthrough does Will make as he sits in his car thinking?

10. What news does Kitty tell Will about her family when they talk in the parking lot of the country club?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Money can't buy happiness, but as some of the characters in the novel show, it can certainly buy other things. Discuss the theme of wealth in the novel, using Will, Allison, and Jack Curl to show how their different attitudes towards money provide different perspectives in the novel. Provide specific examples from the text to support your argument.

Essay Topic 2

Will often refers to the exodus of the Jews from North Carolina as a sign. How does Walker Percy use this motif in the novel? What does Will's fixation with the Jews signify in his personal life? What does it come to mean to the reader? Write an essay in which you discuss the motif and the ways in which the author uses the motif to develop Will's character.

Essay Topic 3

One of Walker Percy's main themes in the novel The Second Coming is identity. Discuss how the characters in the novel deal with their identities, using at least two characters to compare and contrast. Provide specific examples from the text to support your discussion.

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