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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. When McCall is confronted about leaving his prison record off of his application, what does he do in Chapter 39?

2. After McCall meets up with his biological father again in Chapter 30, McCall's father tells him to call when he wants to do what?

3. In Chapter 38, after a change in the newspaper McCall receives what?

4. In Chapter 36, McCall's visiting friend gets a job doing what and becomes disgusted at the low pay?

5. Which one of McCall's kids come to live with him in Chapter 43?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do friends and family have to help McCall when he goes to visit his kids in Atlanta, in Chapter 42?

2. How is McCall's life after being released from St Brides like starting life over?

3. Why does McCall feel he is bringing another child into a world of pain and strife (Chapter 32)?

4. Why are Debbie's parents happy about the pregnancy, while McCall's parents are not in Chapter 32?

5. How does McCall's relationship with his son, Monroe, compare to McCall's relationship with his biological father as described in Chapter 30?

6. Why is McCall now afraid of the people with whom he was once so comfortable?

7. What does McCall like about Islam according to Chapter 26?

8. What does McCall fear about his kids from Debbie and what does he do about it, according to Chapter 34?

9. How does Debbie's mom respond to the African name chosen for their first son and why does McCall insist on the African name?

10. How does Danny's driving curiosity about race affect his relationship with McCall?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Part I of the book, McCall describes his decision to steal as a rite of passage. What is a rite of passage, and how does McCall's decision to take from others constitute such a reference?

Essay Topic 2

How are the people in McCall's life, outside of the prison, affected by his incarceration? (His son, Elisabeth, his parents, siblings, grandmother, etc.)

Essay Topic 3

In Chapters 35 through 39, McCall encounters trendy blacks, advice from Milton Campbell, reaction of fellow journalists in Missouri and Danny his co-worker. How does each of these situations affect McCall's perceptions about race? What challenges him? What changes him? Why?

(see the answer keys)

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