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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 Chapter 8, what does Patty inform Spenser in relation to the upcoming weekend?

2. Why does Spenser not want a personal relationship with Patty?

3. What did the narrator accomplish by visiting the woman in Chapter 2?

4. In Chapter 5, what is Patty's first response to Spenser and Paul's entrance?

5. In Chapter 7, what is Patty's "plan" for Spenser?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 12 we meet Hawk. What kind of a person does Hawk appear to be?

2. Why does Spenser not like the growing sense of intimacy that he describes in Chapter 10?

3. By the beginning of Chapter 6, some time has passed since Spenser's case with the Giacomins; but, he really cannot stop thinking about the whole situation. It bothers him at a basketball game during a date with his girlfriend, Susan. What does this extended concern that Spenser shows for Paul and the discontent that Spenser feel for Patty and Mel show about Spenser's character?

4. How does Spenser diffuse the situation between himself, Buddy, and Harold in Chapter 11?

5. In April, after Mel's thugs try to kidnap Paul, Patty Giacomin calls Spenser for help once again. This time, she asks Spenser to protect her and Paul. Why does Patty desperately call Spenser when she experiences trouble with her ex-husband in relation to her son?

6. What does the discussion that Patty and Spenser have in Chapter 8 reveal to the audience about Patty's real character?

7. In the scene where Paul arrives home, Patty is entertaining a male guest, Stephen Court. How does that scene make you feel?

8. In Chapter 11, Spenser and Paul have a discussion about why Spenser did not shoot the intruders. What does Spenser tell Paul about his reluctance to shoot Buddy and Harold?

9. What do Paul Giacomin's feelings for his parents appear to be?

10. When Paul arrives home, what is the reaction that mother and son both give and receive?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Spenser is the protagonist (hero, good guy) of the story. He is a complex character with many personality aspects who makes some very tough decisions throughout the book. What makes Spenser the hero of the story, even though he makes some decisions which could be viewed as morally problematic? Use instances from the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

If you were the author of "Early Autumn", what is one aspect of the story that you would change? Why would you change it? How would it affect the overall story?

Essay Topic 3

Paul Giacomin is at the heart of this story. He is the boy whose parents fight over him as if he were property; and the boy whom Spenser fights for in order to save his life. Explore Paul's character. Look through the text and use examples from it to support your ideas in relation to the kind of a person that Paul was before he met Spenser, and what kind of a person he was when he left Spenser to go to school.

(see the answer keys)

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