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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 is a cooch show in the circus?

2. Why has Jacob come to live at the assisted-living center?

3. Which relatives does Jacob have trouble remembering?

4. What surprise does Rosemary add to Jacob's breakfast tray?

5. Who comes to Jacob's defense during his conversation with Uncle Al?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where does Jacob go after walking out on his final exams?

2. What job does Jacob take on the first morning when the train stops?

3. What purchase has Uncle Al made from the bankrupted circus that causes him a great deal of excitement?

4. Why does Jacob become angry with Rosemary, one of his nurses at the assisted-living center?

5. What is a cooch show?

6. What ruins Jacob's one joy in the center?

7. What is jake? Why does Camel drink it?

8. Why is Marlena angry with August the following day?

9. How many children does Jacob have?

10. What does Camel promise Jacob?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the death of Jacob's parents. How does this death affect Jacob? What does Jacob's parents leave their son after their deaths? How do the deaths of his parents leave Jacob's future plans irrevocably changed? Why does Jacob react to these deaths by boarding a circus train?

Essay Topic 2

Why does Jacob decide to join the circus as a young man? Why does Jacob again choose to join the circus as an old man? What does Jacob, both young and old, hope to achieve by joining the circus? What does the circus mean to Jacob? Is joining the circus as an old man only about nostalgia? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss setting. What is the setting of this novel? How does the setting of this novel directly affect the actions and behaviors of the characters? What is most significant about the setting in this novel? Why do you think the author chose this setting for her novel? Would the novel's plot work if the setting had been different, such as set in the future or the more immediate past? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 802 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample