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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 what year was Thomas Lynch's first child born?

2. How many of Lynch's eight siblings are part of the funeral industry?

3. In what year was Lynch's Michigan house built?

4. How old was the boy whose mother strangled him with a belt?

5. What Irish writer did Lynch admire?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do most people never pay attention to the figure Lynch called "The Big One"?

2. Why did the Lynch brothers take care of their father's body rather than allow a local undertaker to do the job?

3. How did Lynch feel about constantly taking Nugent's phone calls following the divorce?

4. How did the modern amenities (toilet, television, etc.) change life in the old Irish cottage?

5. What were the different ways in which loved ones reacted to being asked to collect the ashes of the deceased?

6. Why was Lynch's father fond of quoting Gladstone?

7. What are the unique problems faced by undertakers trying to "advertise" their services?

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

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

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

In discussing the divorce of his friend, Henry Nugent, Lynch said divorced men in our society are seen as damaged goods. What did he mean by that? In what ways was the divorce easier on Nugent's ex-wife? How does divorce affect the father's relationship with the children? How did Lynch's divorce differ from many other American divorces?

Essay Topic 2

Lynch described the toilet as an invention that was essential in robbing us of our ability to deal directly with the less savory aspects of life, including the eventuality of death for us all. Do you agree with this? Does the fact that we no longer have to deal in an intimate manner with our life cycle make it more difficult to deal with that cycle? Has death become something we are embarrassed by? If so, how does that affect our attitude toward the dead?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Uncle Eddie's suicide cleanup business (note: there are actual businesses that focus on cleaning up scenes of violent deaths, including suicides and murders). How did Eddie's business provide society with a valuable service? How did the cleanup after these deaths usually get done before such services? How is it an act of kindness for an outsider to clean up the scene so that loved ones do not have to see it? How does this relate to the general services provided by funeral parlors and undertakers?

(see the answer keys)

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