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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 is King's verdict communicated to the reader?

2. Why, according to Bobo, is he in jail?

3. How does Steve describe the look on his mother's face during the judge's instructions to the jury Friday Afternoon, July 17?

4. What does O'Brien say she has to find a way to do in the eyes of the jury, now that Bobo has testified?

5. What does O'Brien tell Steve about Bobo's testimony the day after Bobo testified?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why was Lorelle Henry in the pharmacy?

2. What does O'Brien say she is going to do on the weekend of the 11th?

3. What do the prisoners eat for breakfast on Sunday, July 12?

4. What happens when Steve is made to mop the floor?

5. How do readers know what Steve's verdict is, based on the screenplay?

6. What does Henry mean in the pretrial questioning when she says she is having trouble testifying that King was involved in the crime?

7. When Briggs questions Henry about identifying King, what does she admit about the photographs the police showed her?

8. On Sunday the 12th, how does Steve see his brother Jerry?

9. What does O'Brien say about Petrocelli's bringing the crime scene photos out again just before the long weekend recess?

10. What has O'Brien asked Steve to do when his response is to write down Mr. Sawicki's name twice?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

A major theme of this book is identity, particularly how Steve's identity is constructed or maintained. Write an analytical essay considering the ways in which Walter Dean Myers makes identity a theme. What are the symbolic or linguistic strategies Myers has employed to communicate and investigate Steve's identity? Be sure to offer a descriptive analysis of Steve's identity and identity crisis, using specific examples.

Essay Topic 2

The time line and time frame of this novel are not chronological, but are told rather in flashbacks. Pick at least three specific examples of flashbacks in this book. With each example, describe and contextualize what came before it and what came after it. In addition, write analytical descriptions of the flashbacks. Be sure to include in your analysis why Myers chose to convey this specific information in flashback structure rather than in chronological order. What does the specific structure of each flashback add to the memory that Myers could not achieve with chronological order?

Essay Topic 3

This novel features a family where there are two parents, yet somehow Steve still managed to get into trouble. Analyze the roles Steve's parents play in his life, including before, during, and after prison. What characterizes his relationship with his parents? What responsibility do they have for him getting in trouble (if any) and what are the ways in which they tried to help him out of trouble?

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This section contains 950 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample