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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. In Chapter 9, what positive attribute does Del Nearing mention regarding Volterra?

2. In Chapter 8, what is Volterra unsure of regarding his possible documentary?

3. Which of the following is not a character that James Axton meets in person?

4. Where is Del Nearing en route to when she stays with James in Chapter 10?

5. In the beginning of Chapter 10, David Keller cannot understand why he misses what?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Singh say about the desert in Chapter 12?

2. How does James follow up on his Mani discovery later in Chapter 8?

3. What prank do the Kellers and James try to play on Hardeman in Chapter 11?

4. What point about the murders does Andahl make in Chapter 9?

5. How did Del Nearing and Frank Volterra meet?

6. Where is Volterra in his planning for the cult film at the end of Chapter 8?

7. How does DeLillo illustrate James' awkward relationship with his landlord in Chapter 10?

8. In Chapter 12, why does Owen go to Lake Rajsamand?

9. According to Rowser in Chapter 11, what changes are happening in the Northeast Group.

10. Describe the political argument that James and Eliades have in Chapter 10.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about the marriage and separation of James and Kathryn Axton. How did their marriage affect each others individual life and goals? What state is the marriage in when the novel begins, and how did it reach this point? Discuss how Kathryn and James' personalities and lifestyles change after the separation. What idiosyncrasies are revealed as a result? What finally breaks the marriage apart for good, and how does the veneer of cordiality disappear as a result?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay about the character of Frank Volterra. What is his connection to the Axtons, and how does he find himself in the search of the language cult? Discuss how DeLillo paints Volterra with a different brush that the other characters. Is he, in essence, a caricature of the temperamental auteur director? How does Del Nearing's attachment to Volterra humanize him to a certain point?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about Owen Brademas and his function thematically in the narrative. Based on first impressions from the opening chapters, what does Owen value above all else in life? What does he want to achieve? Discuss how these objectives drive Owen to seek out the cult, and how his skills make him the most effective of the searchers. Why does he become paralyzed by the prospect of meeting the cult? How does his experience with them leave him?

(see the answer keys)

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