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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 did Rick's father teach him that helped him get to his job as a reporter even though many saw him as a loser?

2. What gift did Rick receive in 2nd grade that had such a large impact on him?

3. What does Rick say about this book?

4. How did Charles kill the assassin in Korea?

5. Why did Sam become the school's janitor according to Rick?

Short Essay Questions

1. What kind of an extended family does Rick have?

2. What was Margaret's family like growing up?

3. What did the Bragg men talk about on the front porch over whiskey after dinner?

4. What kind of work did the boys do for their Uncle Ed? What did Rick learn from this work? What did Sam learn from this work?

5. What did Rick experience at the Protestant Church that he attended when he is young?

6. What was the relationship like between the brothers?

7. When did Rick choose to write this memoir and why?

8. How did Rick react to his father's death?

9. What were some of the stories that Rick would tell in the book that he had covered as a reporter?

10. What was the Korean War story that Charles told to Rick?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Rick protected his mother from the horror stories that he wrote about. What was his motive behind this decision? Was it the right decision? Did he do it for himself ultimately or for her?

Essay Topic 2

What drew Rick to spend his life writing stories about human tragedy? Did writing these types of stories resolve his inner issues? What did he learn about life from these stories?

Essay Topic 3

Compare Rick and his brothers to an average American household. How were the boys the same as others? How were they different? Mention not only material items but how they thought about themselves and how others thought about them.

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