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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 Montgomery do after tossing out his breakfast when Charlie leaves?

2. Who arrives at Wally's Pub as Montgomery sits there after fleeing his crime?

3. As Montgomery reads the papers, what depresses him?

4. Montgomery hits his victim repeatedly and decides to leave the car. What is he expecting as he considers abandoning the victim and his car?

5. What is the fantasy that Montgomery has about Charlie?

Short Essay Questions

1. Montgomery speaks of his wife visiting him in jail. He is annoyed with her calm demeanor and ability to make decisions without him. Why might these characteristics upset Montgomery?

2. What does Montgomery mean when he says that he can't say he didn't mean to kill her, only that he doesn't know precisely when he began to mean it?

3. Using your knowledge of Montgomery's history with women, why would he choose the "Portrait of the Woman with Gloves" rather than another?

4. It is no secret that Montgomery is angry at the world and feels he is owed something. How would killing this innocent person be revenge enough on the world for his alter ego Billy Bunter or Montgomery himself?

5. How is Montgomery's recurring dream of being falsely accused of murder an example of foreshadowing for the situation he finds himself in at the current time?

6. After reading the version of the confession written by the police, Montgomery says "they have made a murderer out of him." What is the irony in this statement?

7. Charlie was a dear friend of Montgomery's parents and tells Montgomery of his mother when she was younger. Charlie says that many men adored Montgomery's mother and she was a loved by all except her husband. Why would Charlie tell Montgomery this?

8. As he is leaving the scene of his crime, Montgomery realizes "that the fat, foul-mouthed, inner man has burst out." What he is talking about?

9. As the maid fights back at Montgomery after he shoves her in the car, he says he sees her as a "cornered heroine in a melodrama." Do you think this is an appropriate description of his victim?

10. How is Montgomery foreshadowing his guilt by saying he had been "unknowingly leaving behind a trail of evidence rather than his troubles" as he leaves the village?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The title of the novel is "The Book of Evidence." Why is this an appropriate title to the novel? What is Montgomery's book of evidence?

Essay Topic 2

Fate is a concept that is touched upon in the novel. What is Montgomery's fate at the end of the novel? What events lead him to his fate? Based on Montgomery's actions in the book, does he deserve his fate?

Essay Topic 3

Internal conflicts play a role in the novel. Montgomery battles with himself over right and wrong and the emotions he feels for others. Why are the internal conflicts important to the plot of the novel? How do the internal conflicts help form the character of Montgomery? Do any of the other characters have internal conflicts?

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