View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the narrator especially fascinated by in regard to his ability to remember his childhood?

2. Where does Rita first visit Swede in the book?

3. In what state did Swede grow up?

4. What is Rita's last name in the book?

5. What does the narrator tell Jerry that the nostalgia of the reunion is least likely to present to explain why he came?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Rita and Swede's conversation after she reveals she is Merry's friend in Chapter 4?

2. How is Merry's bombing in her hometown at the end of Chapter 3 described?

3. What does Rita tell Swede that Merry says about him and her mother?

4. Describe Nathan's interaction with his old girlfriend Joy at his class reunion.

5. How does the narrator describe the lack of a generation gap in his neighborhood?

6. What is the nature of the description of Newark Maid Leatherware?

7. What is the nature of Nathan's reminiscence about "The Kid from Tomkinsville"?

8. How are Merry's physical attributes described as she grows up?

9. What does Nathan decide he will do to complete his story on Swede in Chapter 3?

10. How does the narrator describe the post-war energy of his neighborhood in Chapter 2?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the character Lou Levov. What about Lou's upbringing influenced the way he raised his children and pushed his ideals on their lives?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the role of the dinner party in the book. How do the events at the dinner party represent the crashing down of everything in Swede's life?

Essay Topic 3

Examine the use of the reunion as a frame story for Swede. What were you able to learn about Swede that you would not had the author not been at the reunion?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 594 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample