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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 is David's plane landing at the end of the second chapter "Fly Away?"

2. What does David's grandmother say she never did to his mother?

3. Who wrote the letter that David wished he never received?

4. Who does David find out has died while he was in Egypt?

5. Which one of David's brothers came to the hospital to see their father before David arrived?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does David choose to stay at the dorms rather than go out with the other soldiers?

2. Describe the nightmares that David has during basic training.

3. What does David's mother mean by "All I've done for you" when talking to David?

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

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

6. Why is David afraid of the nurse reporting the abuse to the authorities?

7. David's mother stopped calling David by his name while he was a child. Describe the regression of David's "name."

8. Why is David surprised upon entering his mother's home after seven years?

9. What advice does David's father have for him as he gets ready to leave for the Air Force?

10. Why does David find out that his superior officers have been so hard on him?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

When talking to David about his past abuse, Patsy did not believe him. Discuss why you think Patsy did not believe that David was abused. What about David's personality makes it hard for her to believe that he was abused? Does David possess any signs of being an abused child? If so, why does Patsy fail to recognize these signs?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss David's feelings about himself. Do you think that these feelings are warranted? How does David cope with his feelings? What makes it possible for David to live with himself given how he feels? When do David's feelings about himself change?

Essay Topic 3

David tells readers about a time in his childhood when he was ready to die. Why do you think he was finally ready to give up? What finally snapped in David? Given all of the abuse, why was he willing to let his mother finally win and kill him? Or would she really be winning?

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This section contains 880 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample