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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 what month did adult Elwood always attend the New York City marathon?

2. Visitors from how many different states flocked to attend Nickel's Christmas Fair each year?

3. As Clayton Smith rode with the man who had given him a ride, he imagined a posse looking for him with which character "at the head" (150)?

4. In what kind of location in Tallahassee had Jaime liked to hang out with his friends before his stint at Nickel?

5. On what day of Clinton Smith's freedom from Nickel did he decide it was safe enough for him to hitchhike?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the set of "Chipwick's British Classics" (84) symbolize within the novel?

2. Describe the two different ways of "serving time" (144) outlined by the narrator in Chapter 12.

3. At what decision did Elwood arrive in relation to a date of release in Chapter 8?

4. What new opportunity did Elwood receive at Nickel due to Turner's recommendation?

5. What kind of strike was happening in New York City upon Elwood's arrival in the city as an adult?

6. What did adult Elwood do with the napkin associated with Chickie Pete and why?

7. Who was Chickie Pete and for what purpose does Whitehead devise his character?

8. What happened on Christmas Day that caused the Nickel boys to feel "like boys from nice houses in nice neighborhoods" (116)?

9. What physical problem of Elwood's is described in Chapter 11?

10. What "fifth way out of Nickel" (153) did Elwood devise in Chapter 12?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What ultimate message is Whitehead sending about the nature and value of compassion?

Essay Topic 2

Sensory details are used frequently by Whitehead in order to create vivid pictures of the reformatory school central to the narrative of The Nickel Boys. Choose three scenes in which sensory details are heavily used and discuss how the sensory details used serve Whitehead’s creation of an effective novel setting.

Essay Topic 3

Analyze the ways in which the themes of adaptability and resignation appear within Whitehead’s novel The Nickel Boys. What message is Whitehead sending about these two themes over the course of the narrative?

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