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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 Marcus try to hang out with at school in Chapter 5?

2. Why do the students ask Marcus not to hang out with them in Chapter 5?

3. What does Will do when he sees the older kids going after Marcus in Chapter 16?

4. What does SPAT stand for?

5. What does Marcus begin to imagine during lunch in Chapter 13?

Short Essay Questions

1. What lie does Will tell at the SPAT meeting?

2. Describe Will's lunch with Marcus and Fiona in Chapter 13.

3. What lie does Will tell in Chapter 8?

4. What happens when Marcus tries to hang out with some boys in Chapter 5?

5. How is Will feeling about his life in Chapter 12?

6. From whose perspective is the novel "About a Boy" told from?

7. Why does Marcus try to turn off the film in Chapter 11?

8. What does Marcus conclude about his family in Chapter 11?

9. What does Will almost wish at the SPAT meeting? Why does he almost wish this?

10. How does Marcus find his mother when he returns home in Chapter 7? What does she tell him?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the motif of family in the novel "About a Boy". Describe both Marcus' and Will's family. Is family important to Marcus? What does Marcus realize about family by the end of the novel? Why is this realization important for his character?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Will's fear of commitment. Why does he fear commitment? How does this fear of commitment impact his life?? What or who leads him to consider commitment by the end of the novel?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze Hornby's use of irony. What are some examples of irony in the novel? How do these examples affect the reader's experience when reading the novel?

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