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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 does the narrator think as he is stalled in this chapter?

2. Where was the treasure hunt prize found?

3. What is the narrator's favorite snack?

4. What wooden animal stands on a beach?

5. On what round of the contest does Big Al collapse?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the forming of clans among New Jerseyites mean?

2. Name some New Jersey characteristics that make it the butt of comedians' jokes.

3. What is the premise of A FISTFUL OF FIG NEWTONS?

4. Describe some of the projects created in leathercraft.

5. What happened to Big Al during the contest and what does the narrator realize about Umbaugh's actions years later?

6. In what circumstances does the narrator find himself as the novel opens and how does he perceive his circumstances?

7. How were the boys initiated into camp life upon their arrival?

8. What prompts the narrator to think of his childhood summer camp days?

9. Why does the narrator question his impatience to get through the tunnel?

10. Describe some of the misfortunes that happened to the boys as they tried to engage in camp activities.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain some of the examples of regionalism found in the book. Can regionalism include more than accents and food? What else encompasses the culture and personality of a region? What are the major differences Shepherd found as he traveled from place to place?

Essay Topic 2

Shepherd wrote most of these stories with the theme of disappointment. Choose three situations from any of the stories and explain the disappointment in each. How did the narrator maintain any hope given the disappointments he always seemed to experience?

Essay Topic 3

Explain the narrator's childhood growing up in a small town in Indiana in the 1930s. What was his family life like? Who were his friends? What were his school experiences? How did these people and experiences form him into the adult he would become?

(see the answer keys)

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