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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 nationality is Piri's father?

2. What job does Piri answer an advertisement for?

3. What do Rocky and friends do when they see Piri is hurt?

4. What does Piri ask his father to get him?

5. What part of Long Island does the family move to?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Piri think Crutch has a good way of looking at racism?

2. Why does Piri think his father does not like him as much as his other children?

3. Describe Piri's job as a shoeshine boy.

4. What problems does the family face in the opening section?

5. How do Marcia and her friends react to Piri's asking Marcia to dance?

6. How does Piri injure his hand?

7. How does Miss Washington help Piri in this section?

8. How do Piri and his mother react differently to Paulie's death?

9. Describe the way of life in Harlem.

10. How does racism bother Piri in the fourth section?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose one of the following and examine how it helped Piri to focus on improving himself as a person while in prison:

1) Prison routine

2) Denial of parole

3) Religion

Essay Topic 2

What insight does Piri give about the Great Depression in the Thirties? How do Piri's parents cope with the Great Depression? In what way does the Great Depression destroy, or almost destroy, the lives of people close to Piri? What did American society learn from the Great Depression in the Thirties?

Essay Topic 3

Why is it important for Piri to have a good reputation? What do the students think Piri's life in New York would have been like if he did not have a good reputation? Was joining a gang or group is the only way to get a good reputation as a teenager in New York?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 706 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample