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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 idea does Patty come up with to solve the problem of Mel's henchmen in Chapter 13?

2. While Spenser and Paul are working in Chapter 22, who goes to the cabin?

3. Why does Susan feel the way that she does about the idea of Paul being away from his parents and learning self-reliance?

4. Spenser tells Paul that they are building the cabin a simpler, yet less desirable way. Why is the way they are doing it less desirable?

5. What does Spenser think of the visitor's request in Chapter 22?

Short Essay Questions

1. Aside from making sure that Paul has a presentable suit to wear to the ballet, what is the point of taking Paul to Louis' to get a suit?

2. Why does Spenser does not take a television to the cabin with him and Paul?

3. Is Spenser's evaluation of Susan's attitude in Chapter 23 an accurate one? Why? Why not?

4. What is the lesson that Spenser is trying to teach Paul via the two of them building the cabin together with their own hands instead of hiring someone else to do it or using machinery?

5. As evidenced in his conversation with Spenser in Chapter 20, why is Paul curious in relation to why his parents think the way that they do?

6. What is Susan's opinion about Spenser keeping Paul?

7. How is the reader likely to feel when Patty shows up to take Paul home in Chapter 22?

8. Why does Spenser agree to keep Paul after the kidnapping scare when Patty is taken hostage?

9. In Chapter 17, Paul asks Spenser why he cannot simply leave him alone. Spenser replies that he cannot leave him alone because everyone in his life has left him alone and it has not done him any good. He also tells Paul that his goal is to help him become a better person. What does Spenser mean by that?

10. How does Susan feel about Spenser sending Paul and Patty to her house in Chapter 13?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Mel and Patty have a complex relationship. They used to be in love, hence their marriage and Paul's birth. Somewhere along the way, that marriage disintegrated, leading to their separation and eventual divorce. Now their only purpose is to hurt each other in any way that they can, specifically to use Paul as the object to do that with.

Part 1) Explore the motivation that the two have to hurt each other the way that they do; why do you think that they do it?

Part 2) What effect has that relationship between his parents had on Paul?

Use specific examples from the text to support your answers.

Essay Topic 3

Patty uses her sexuality and the act of sex to define herself and to measure her self worth.

Part 1) Do you think that is healthy? Why? Why not?

Part 2) How does that outlook hurt her ability to be a mother to Paul?

Part 3) How does that outlook influence Paul?

(see the answer keys)

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