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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. The second time James goes to the Mani in Chapter 8, who does he learn passed through the area recently?

2. What is different about James and Ann in Chapter 11?

3. Why is James unable to get information from the patrons of the tavern in Chapter 8?

4. What is James doing when he hears gunshots in Chapter 13?

5. What are James and Ann doing at the end of Chapter 13?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does James learn the truth behind the CIA in Chapter 13?

2. What suspicions does James have about Eliades in Chapter 13?

3. How did Del Nearing and Frank Volterra meet?

4. What is different about Chapter 14 from the rest of the novel?

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

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

7. How does James seduce Janet Ruffing at the end of Chapter 9?

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

9. What information does Andahl give about the cult in Chapter 9?

10. In Chapter 8, what does James see in Mani that shakes him up?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about the ensemble that is James Axton's expatriate social scene. What collective philosophy do these people share, and for whence does this philosophy derive? In this essay, discuss the dynamic that exists within the group. Who are the most dominant figures in the group dynamic, and who feels like an outsider? Which couples are strong and which are clearly foundering? How is this made apparent?

Essay Topic 2

Violence occurs intermittently throughout The Names, and when it falls, the violence comes quickly and partially witnessed. It is ambiguous in its intent and raises all sorts of questions. Write an essay about moments of violence in the novel:

Part 1) Discuss the first murder. Who makes not of it first in the novel? Is it witnessed, first-hand by any character? How does Owen connect the violence to the people he met in the cave? What inquiries lead to the connection of the first murder to the ones that came before and after it?

Part 2) How does Owen experience his only murder with the death cult? Is he actually present when the man is bludgeoned to death? Why or why not? In assessing the effect of this violence on him as a character, discuss what leads up to the murder and what follows it.

Part 3) How is David Keller shot in the novel? Who shoots him, and why? How does James Axton, and by proxy the reader, experience this act of violence in the novel? Discuss what concerns and doubts it creates in the protagonist's mind. How is the act explained?

Essay Topic 3

The world of The Names is one in which truth and facts are subjective. One can never be certain what is real and what is imagined. As such, there are a plethora of ambiguous characters in the novel. Write an essay about three such characters, discussing what they appear to be and what they are. How is the narrative affected by each of these characters? What deceptions do they perpetrate, and to what end? Is each characters' objectives identified by the end of the novel?

Part 1) Eliades

Part 2) Rowser

Part 3) Andahl

(see the answer keys)

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