Running with Scissors Test | Mid-Book Test - Hard

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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. Where does Deirdre dream of one day being published?

2. How does Augusten feel after the sexual encounter with Neil?

3. When Augusten first meets her, what is Joranne weeping about?

4. What is Augusten watching his mother do in the opening of the novel?

5. With whom do Deirdre's fights typically become physical?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Augusten expecting of the Finch's home, and what does he find?

2. What happens when Poo Bear walks in on the kids playing with the electroshock machine?

3. How does the reunification between Augusten and his mother go?

4. How do Augusten's family members react to his admission of his relationship with Neil Bookman?

5. Why has Natalie moved back home with her parents?

6. Who is Joranne, and what is her condition when Augusten meets her?

7. What happens in the scene in which Augusten's mother is dressing for the poetry reading?

8. How does Hope respond to Augusten's desire to move to New York City?

9. What conversation does Natalie and Augusten get into about his possible career goals?

10. Why is there a giant hole in the Finch's kitchen ceiling?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

There are many times throughout his life that Augusten feels very alone and sought out someone to confess his emotions to.

Part 1.) Create a list of three examples in which Augusten felt alone and depressed.

Part 2.) Explain who Augusten typically chose to confess his feelings of loneliness to.

Part 3.) Explain the way that emotions and confessions shaped the relationship that Augusten had with at least one other character in the memoir.

Essay Topic 2

The story is ultimately Augusten Burroughs' account of his childhood. Compare / contrast the boy that Augusten is in the beginning of the novel with the man that he is in the end and give one example of a scene that irrevocably changed the course of Augusten Burroughs' life.

Essay Topic 3

Many characters in the memoir battle with debilitating obsessions. Create a list of three characters that deal with various obsessions throughout the course of the memoir. Compare and contrast the way that their obsessions have affected their lives. Finally, explain the way that each of these characters attempted to battle their obsessive tendencies.

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