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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. According to the person who convinces Penn to meet with him by telling him that his family is in danger, what does this person consider Payton to be?

2. What happened to Tom when he was the defendant in a malpractice suit years earlier?

3. Who is the father of the girl Penn was involved with during high school?

4. Who drives Penn home from the fundraising party?

5. According to Tom, who raped Penn's aunt years earlier?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Penn asks his father if he ever found out the reason behind Marston's attack, what is Tom's reply?

2. When Penn first confronts his father about what's bothering his father, how does Tom react?

3. After Hanratty is convicted, what does Hanratty's brother do?

4. When Presley and Tom met after Hillman had been killed, what did Tom ask Presley?

5. Why is Penn confused by the comments made by the woman who threw the drink in Penn's face at the fundraising party?

6. According to Penn's mother, why had she been upset earlier on the phone?

7. When Penn announces to his parents that he is moving back to his hometown, how do Penn's parents react?

8. Why does Sam Jacobs warn Penn about the Payton murder as they leave the fund-raising party?

9. After hearing Presley's response about why Presley only returned one gun, not two, what does Tom believe?

10. When Penn first confronts his father about what's bothering his father, what does Penn think is going on?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast Tom Cage and Leo Marston.

a. How are the two characters similar? How are they different?

b. Compare the role that honesty plays in each of their lives. How is each character affected by the concept of honesty - both positively and negatively?

Essay Topic 2

In many ways, the novel is a series of contrasts designed to heighten the reader's awareness and draw the reader deeper into the story and the intricacies of each of the story's characters. Identify at least three contrasts that are used in the novel. Describe these contrasts and determine how they impact the story's plot, as well as the reader's emotional involvement in the characters' lives. If these identified contrasts were not included in the story, what impact would their absence have on the storyline, the characters' development, and the readers' involvement?

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast how the character of Penn Cage changes as the story progresses. Be sure to include your assessment of Penn's character when he is first introduced in the story, when he moves back to Natchez, when Althea asks for his help finding Del's murderer, when he meets with Stone for the second time, and when he returns to Disney World at the end of the story. Use examples from the story to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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