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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 are the two names that David calls his mother?

2. According to Aunt Jane, times were different in the past and nicknamed what?

3. Who goes to the hospital with David to see his father for the first time?

4. According to the phone call, how long does David's father have left to live?

5. Where does David work as a short-order cook?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

6. Why does David not understand the reason for his mother's abuse?

7. David's grandmother denies abusing his mother. What did his grandmother do to her daughter as a child?

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

9. Patsy gives David a lot of trouble about not going out with her in Chapter 6 entitled "Regroup." How does David justify to Patsy not going out and doing anything fun?

10. Why does David initially refuse to admit that his father was going to die?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Describe the importance of David's son Stephen. Why is Stephen so important to David? Why is David willing to sacrifice everything for his son? Is this David's way of showing the world that he is not a "bad person?" How does Stephen save David?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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