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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. Who does the enlisting sergeant compare David to?

2. What are the two names that David calls his mother?

3. What is the first thing David does upon returning from Egypt?

4. What does David's mother call him?

5. How does David impress the recruiting officer while filling out his Air Force enlistment papers?

Short Essay Questions

1. While looking around his mother's bedroom, what is he surprised to find after seven years?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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. How did David deal with his Mother's abuse as a child?

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

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

David dreams of the Russian River many times throughout the novel. Explain the importance of the Russian River to David. Why is the this place so important to him? Is it his memories or his planning for the future that fuel his love for the river?

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