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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. Which of the following summarizes Todbaum's view of human nature?

2. What book is Todbaum particularly disdainful of in Chapter 44?

3. What does hearing Maddy's voice call out to him remind him of in Chapter 49?

4. What does Journeyman hide his disappointment from Maddy about in Chapter 49?

5. What kind of cult does Todbaum say he encountered in Kansas?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Part III, what does Journeyman propose to get to know the woman in the library better and what does he find out about her?

2. How is Todbaum's story about Pittsburgh a turning point for him and the people of Tinderwick who come to hear his stories?

3. What does Todbaum ask Journeyman to give to Maddy for him in Part II?

4. How does Journeyman feel when he first sets foot on Quarry Island in Part IV?

5. What does Journeyman observe the two Cordon men doing who are camped out at the edge of Founder's Park in Part III?

6. Why is Delia Limetree upset during the meeting with the Cordon in Part III?

7. What happens to Todbaum's napkin "contract" for Maddy in Part III?

8. What is Nowlin's plan in Part IV?

9. What does Kormentz begin doing in Part III when Journeyman brings his deliveries that Journeyman hates?

10. What does Journeyman think about Todbaum when he sees him for the first time again in Part IV?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why is the Lake of Tiredness so named, and what do you think the Lake of Tiredness - and its one resident, Jerome Kormentz, symbolize? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your answers.

Essay Topic 2

What is your understanding of the event called The Arrest? What do you think are some reasons Lethem keeps the causes and consequences of The Arrest so generally vague, and how does this vagueness affect the reader's experience of this novel? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your answers.

Essay Topic 3

How does Journeyman feel about the people from the Cordon? How do the rest of the Tinderwick residents feel about the Cordon? Why do they feel the way they do about the Cordon, and what are the main differences between the people and cultures of Tinderwick and the Cordon? Write an essay explaining your answers.

(see the answer keys)

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