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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 Simon talk about late at night sometimes?

2. What kinds of shirts does Simon buy for the band?

3. Who does Simon play his fiddle for at Fort Brown?

4. Who dies of yellow fever?

5. Who goes with Simon to a new city after the war?

Short Essay Questions

1. What instrument does Simon play?

2. Where does Simon want to buy land?

3. Who does Simon kiss at the garden party?

4. How does Simon get to Galveston?

5. What does Simon play for Doris when she rides by in a carriage?

6. How old is Simon at the beginning of the novel?

7. What does Doris think of the Webb family?

8. Who does Simon notice at a dinner after the war?

9. Who is Damon Lessing?

10. Who dies of yellow fever?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay in which you explore the long term effect that the war has on Simon and on the country at large, as seen through his travels through the South. In what ways has the war changed the nation as a whole? Use evidence from the text as support.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay in which you explore Simon's experience fighting in the war. What does he learn from this experience, about life, war, and himself? Use evidence from the text as support.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay in which you explore Simon's relationship with his band mates. What is the nature of their relationship as a musical group? In what ways does their unit function as a sort of family for Simon? Use evidence from the text as support.

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