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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 part of Terry's body did the shrapnel scar?

2. What does Lennox say he has in Las Vegas?

3. Who does George Peters work for?

4. What name was Terry going under?

5. Who does Eileen question Marlowe about?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does George Peters help Marlowe in the fourth section?

2. Why does Terry think his wife is scared?

3. Why does Eileen want to hire Marlowe?

4. Why is Menendez angry at Terry?

5. What does Morgan think about Terry's death?

6. How does Marlowe help Terry in the opening chapter?

7. Describe the confrontation between Earl and Roger in the fourth section.

8. Describe the confrontation between Marlowe and Menendez in the third section.

9. What does Marlowe learn about Terry and Sylvia in this section?

10. What does Grenz say has happened to Terry?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why do the students think Marlowe is so indifferent about everyone's death apart from Terry's? What does Marlowe's attitude suggest about his attitude towards his own life? In what way does Chandler suggest that Marlowe's attitude is shared with the other characters in the book? What does Chandler's representation of death say about American society in the Fifties?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the political side of the novel.

1) What does the book say about politics in America after World War II?

2) What were Chandler's political views and how does he express his views in the novel?

3) How did the 1973 film use Chandler's ideas to make a statement about 1970s society and politics?

Essay Topic 3

Examine violence in the novel.

1) How do the characters in the novel view violence? Are there characters that would think twice before shooting or hitting someone?

2) Do the characters need to be violent to cope in the world that Chandler portrays?

3) How do the students think the public reacted to the novel's violence when it was first published? How would the public react to such a book today?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 776 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample