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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 town did Lynch explore while on his trip in Chapter 5?

2. How old were the twins who drowned in the river?

3. For how long was Lynch on the island?

4. When did embalming become common?

5. What immigrant group did Lynch say has a fondness for funeral services?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did the undertakers at the conference seem intent of developing new language to explain what they did for a living?

2. When and why did the regular practice of embalming begin?

3. Why did Lynch enjoy not having access to indoor plumbing when he first visited his cousins in Ireland?

4. Why did the priest insist on a simple funeral and burial service and why was Lynch unimpressed?

5. What was Lynch's view of the notion that the corpse is just an empty shell?

6. Why was Henry Nugent unable to get relief from his heartbreak following his divorce?

7. What is the essential difference between burying the old and burying infants?

8. How did Lynch convey the sensuality of the preparation and eating of the artichoke?

9. Why did Nugent have several relationships following his divorce and did they help him find love?

10. If the dead don't care, why did Lynch get up in the middle of the night to tend to the newly deceased?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Lynch quotes Gladstone as stating that he could tell how a people respected the laws of the land by how they treated their dead. Do you agree with this? What does the way in which society treats its dead say about that society? Does it go beyond simply obeying laws? How does a society's way of "caring" for the dead reflect its attitude toward life? How do you think modern American society treats its dead and how does this reflect our overall society?

Essay Topic 2

Houses used to be the location of many of life's most significant occurrences (birth, courtship, marriage, death and funeral preparation). Today, many American homes have rooms that are rarely used (living rooms) and rooms that appear to be nothing more than trophies (huge kitchens in homes where eating out is the norm). How has this change affected society? How has it affected the ability of families to remain close to one another? Are there any benefits to this arrangement? How has isolating key aspects of life from one another affected us?

Essay Topic 3

Lynch discussed how society has accepted certain deaths in the names of choice, justice, and God. How does this willingness to accept the end of life in some cases affect society as a whole? How does a society determine where to draw the line? How does this attitude affect attitudes toward life itself? Why do people who accept some death choices utterly reject others? Is Lynch right when he states that primitive humans had a more civilized attitude toward life and death?

(see the answer keys)

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