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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What are the two names that David calls his mother?
(a) Mommy and The Mother.
(b) Mom and The Monster.
(c) Mommy and Mom.
(d) Mother and The Monster.

2. According to David, what word is associated with the highest compliment that his father could give him?
(a) Slugger.
(b) Survivor.
(c) Son.
(d) Tiger.

3. What excuse does David's mother come up with to cover up his injuries sustained from being pushed down the stairs?
(a) He fell off his bike.
(b) He was sleep-walking.
(c) He was wrestling with his brothers.
(d) He tripped.

4. What does David's grandmother compare talking about the past to?
(a) Opening Hell.
(b) Opening Pandora's box.
(c) Entering a beehive.
(d) Teasing a rabid dog.

5. What are the only letters that David regularly receives while in basic training?
(a) Ones from his brothers.
(b) Ones from his father.
(c) Ones marked "Return to Sender."
(d) Ones from his mother.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does David think his father's admittance into the hospital will do for his family?

2. David's grandmother is very hard on Stan. Why is David angry about her lack of patience with Stan?

3. What book written by Gary Powers does David spend time reading?

4. Upon entering the hospital to see David's father, what does the smell remind him of?

5. What decision does David make during the summer of 1978?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does David's mother refuse to go see her husband in the hospital?

2. Why is David so upset about his father being in the hospital?

3. How does David impress the Air Force sergeant assigned to his enlistment paperwork?

4. Why is David's grandmother so upset with his mother (her daughter) after his father's death?

5. Who has come to visit David's father in the hospital?

6. Why is David sweating while on the plane to San Antonio?

7. What is the only way that David knows how to deal with his father's death?

8. In Chapter 1 entitled "The End," what happens when David finally lashes out verbally against his mother?

9. How does David's father "tell" him where the badge is?

10. Why is David shocked by the one and only letter his father sends him?

(see the answer keys)

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