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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 does the narrator go with Miss Irene one Saturday in the summer?

2. What does Neeka fear?

3. What effect does Tupac's imprisonment have on him?

4. What does the narrator say Tash has not lost?

5. What does the narrator compare herself to regarding her height?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Sly and a friend of his do to Tash and Randall?

2. What does Neeka say she wants to do when she grows up?

3. What does Jayjones explain to the younger children about what blacks need to do to stay out of trouble?

4. Who was Tash's music teacher and what did he think of Tash's playing?

5. How does Miss Irene react to the photographer in Chapter 15?

6. What does Tash look like when he comes into the visitation area and how does he act?

7. What do Neeka and the narrator do when they come home after being with D in Chapter 11?

8. What happens in May with the narrator and how does she feel about it?

9. What does Neeka complain about on the way to the prison and what does she think she can do about it?

10. What does Tash ask Jayjones and what does Tash say is the first thing he is going to do when he leaves prison?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Jayjones arrives anxious and out of breath. He had been exercising in the park and a cop stopped him, presumably because he is black and the racist cop believed he was running from a crime. Jayjones believes a mere suit and a college education do not prevent pervasive racism.

1. Police officers stopping minorities more often than whites is called racial profiling. What measures do you think should be taken to prevent racial profiling? Discuss your opinion in depth using examples from the book and your own life.

2. What would you do if you were Jayjones and stopped by the police for no reason? Discuss your options in depth.

3. Do you think Jayjones is correct that a suit and college education does not stop racism? Why or why not? Discuss your opinion in depth using examples from the book and your own life.

Essay Topic 2

Chapter eleven is perhaps the most important chapter in the book. Its central event involves the three girls disobeying their mothers' orders not to leave the block. This act is literally and figuratively evidence of maturation. The maturation culminates in a personal transformation Neeka and the narrator feel when they are on the stage of the amphitheater. They announce "We're here!" as if proclaiming their entrance into adulthood. Examining the symbolism of the setting, the girls have finally gone from mere onlookers in life to the doers, the actors, on stage.

1. Discuss, in depth, the symbolism in the scene from the amphitheater. Use examples from After Tupac and D Foster to illustrate and support your answer.

2. Why do you think the narrator and Neeka disobeying their mothers might be evidence of maturation? Students may consider the act of baby birds flying from the nest. Use examples from After Tupac and D Foster to illustrate and support your answer.

3. Why do you think the narrator said she felt "whole" for the first time when the girls were at the amphitheater? Use examples from After Tupac and D Foster to illustrate and support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Characters are an integral and important part of almost all novels. Discuss the following:

1. Compare/contrast the characters of the narrator and Neeka. How are they similar? How are they different? Is there a flaw in each of their personalities? What are their strengths and weaknesses? How do those support each other in their friendship? Be specific and give examples.

2. Compare/contrast the characters of the narrator and D. How are they similar? How are they different? Is there a flaw in each of their personalities? What are their strengths and weaknesses? How do those support each other in their friendship? Be specific and give examples.

3. Thoroughly analyze how three of the secondary characters in After Tupac and D Foster how do they drive the plot and what are their contribution is to the storyline. Are any of the secondary characters unnecessary? Indispensable? Which of the secondary characters are likable? Which are either unlikable or even despicable? Be specific and give examples.

(see the answer keys)

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