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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. When Tom Corey approaches Silas Lapham about joining his business, how does Lapham try to treat young Corey?
2. How many daughters do Silas and Persis Lapham have?
3. Which of the following statements is not a way Tom Corey describes Silas Lapham to his father?
4. Why does Penelope Lapham think Tom Corey and Irene Lapham need to spend more time alone?
5. Where does Tom Corey visit his mother and sisters in Chapter Six?
Short Essay Questions
1. Why does Bartley Hubbard interview Silas Lapham, and what differing views of success do Hubbard and Lapham have?
2. How does Tom Corey describe the Lapham family to his mother?
3. When Tom Corey comes to their new home's construction site, why do the Laphams leave him alone with Irene?
4. What aspect of Tom Corey's life does Silas Lapham disapprove of, and what action does Lapham think it would take to improve Corey?
5. Why are the Laphams considered deficient in social graces?
6. What arguments does Anna Corey give her husband for opposing their son's marriage to Silas Lapham's daughter?
7. Why does Silas Lapham decide to build a new house?
8. How does Penelope react to Tom Corey's visits in Chapter Eleven, and what does her behavior indicate?
9. Why do the Coreys consider themselves "better" than the Laphams, and what virtues does Silas Lapham possess that the Coreys do not?
10. Which Lapham sister does Tom Corey talk about when he visits the Laphams and which one does he not talk about, and what do his conversational tendencies indicate?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Discuss the meaning of the book's title. It indicates that Silas Lapham will rise during the course of the book, yet he falls financially, so what kind of rise does Silas experience and what incidents in the book illustrate that rise? What theme do you think William Dean Howells is trying to convey through the protagonist's fall and rise in this book? Cite at least three examples from the text to support your arguments.
Essay Topic 2
Tears, Idle Tears is a novel that a number of characters, including Tom Corey and Penelope Lapham, read in the Rise of Silas Lapham. Discuss how the plot and characters of Tears, Idle Tears mirrors or parallels the course of Tom and Penelope's own romance. Cite examples from the text to support your arguments.
Essay Topic 3
Discuss the themes of self help and self sufficiency in The Rise of Silas Lapham. Which character or characters illustrate these themes? What does the author seem to be saying about these themes in the novel? Cite examples from the text to support your arguments.
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This section contains 1,041 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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