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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. Why is Rudolph upset at the end of his confession with Father Schwartz in Chapter 2?
(a) He has not tell him everything.
(b) Father Schwartz does not seem to care.
(c) Father Schwartz says he is going to tell his father.
(d) He has told a lie, which is a sin.

2. How does Father Schwartz know Rudolph's father?
(a) He is a parishioner.
(b) He was his former housekeeper.
(c) They went to school together.
(d) He is a clergyman.

3. What is another "easy sin" Rudolph confessed to Father Schwartz in Chapter 2?
(a) He skipped church the week before.
(b) He was mean to an old lady.
(c) He cheated on a test at school.
(d) He talked back to his teacher.

4. Who can Father Schwartz hear pass by his window at 4 p.m.?
(a) A group of women.
(b) Schoolchildren.
(c) Nobody, the streets are eerily quiet.
(d) Ambulances.

5. What does Father Schwartz first do when Rudolph arrives at the start of the story?
(a) He asks him to come back later.
(b) He pretends to be busy.
(c) He prays with him.
(d) He tells him he should not come to his house.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is something that saddens Father Schwartz at the start of "Absolution"?

2. What does the carpet in Father Schwartz home bring to mind when he looks at it to avoid the sun?

3. What does Rudolph confess to Father Schwartz about his feelings about his parents in Chapter 2?

4. Why does Rudolph decide to stay and confess rather than succumbing to his urge to leave?

5. What does Rudolph tell Father Schwartz when he finally speaks?

Short Essay Questions

1. What plan does Rudolph come up with at the end of Chapter 2 to avoid having to take communion at church the next day?

2. What "easy sins" did Rudolph confess to Father Schwartz in Chapter 2?

3. What does Father Schwartz do on Saturdays after confession? What happens as he passes the drug store that increases his sadness?

4. What object in Father Schwartz's room reminds him of "gruesome labyrinths" (1)? Why does he stare at this object in the first place?

5. Who is Blatchford Sarnmenington? What happens when Rudolph thinks of him?

6. What made Rudolph uncomfortable as he sat waiting to confess at the start of Chapter 2?

7. Why did Rudolph's father tell him he had to go to confession three days before Rudolph came to see Father Schwartz in his home? Did Rudolph obey his father?

8. What does Father Schwartz tell Rudolph he should have done when he was in the barn with the boy and the girl?

9. What sin did Rudolph finally confess to Father Schwartz after he "exhausted the minor offenses" (6)?

10. What did Rudolph try to force himself to do as he waited at the confessional in Chapter 2?

(see the answer keys)

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