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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. How does Corrine feel about telling Michael about their daughter's rape?

2. What does Corrine think about her daughter after talking with Mrs. Bethune?

3. What does Patrick tell Judd when he asks why their father hates Marianne?

4. Who is Jill James?

5. In the chapter "Plastica," what does Patrick tell Judd when he calls home?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is revealed about the experience of Michael Sr. and Corrine becoming parents to their four children?

2. What upsets Corrine when she finds a matchbook in Michael's pants pocket from the Wolf's Head Inn?

3. What kind of relationship does Michael Sr. have with his own father?

4. What is revealed about Judd as he watches the dogs rush into the pond as they chase the doe he had been watching?

5. When Patrick speaks on the phone with his sister Marianne, what might be said about the background noise that is taking place at her end of the line?

6. What does Judd reveal in the extremely short chapter, "Gone?"

7. What event occurs to Corrine in 1938 that she attributes to providence, and why does she say she is spared from death?

8. Judd happens upon his father talking to his older brothers about some kind of secret. What is the discussion about and what is the significance of the discussion?

9. What is the toll on Judd as his siblings leave home?

10. What is happening to Michael Sr. when he visits the bar in the Mt. Ephraim Country Club that causes him to throw the contents of his glass of beer into Judge Gerald Kirkland's face?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the purpose behind Patrick setting off the stink bomb at his graduation? Is he bitter about the way people are treating his family? Is it a prank meant to show off how intelligent he is? Is it a way to get out of giving the valedictorian speech? What other possible reasons might he have had?

Essay Topic 2

What is the symbolism of the country club to Michael Mulvaney and how does it differ from what it symbolizes to his wife, Corrine? They both appeared to view the country club from different perspectives. Why is that?

Essay Topic 3

Why does Michael suddenly spend more time with his old friends at the Wolf's Lake Inn after Marianne's rape? Is he in need of moral support or acceptance? Is he too embarrassed or angry about what happened to his daughter to get that from friends from Mt. Ephraim? Does he have any friends left in Mt. Ephraim? What is the difference between the friends at Wolf's Lake Inn and those who belonged to the Mt. Ephraim Country Club?

(see the answer keys)

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