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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 does the narrator say that adolescents sought more of compared to the adults in his neighborhood?

2. What does the narrator meet with Swede to write about near the end of Chapter 1?

3. What kind of monks does Merry watch on television as a child?

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

5. What is the name of the black worker at Swede's factory that stays with him during the riots?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How does Swede describe glove making to the narrator in Chapter 1?

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

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

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

6. How does the narrator describe Swede's tribute to his father?

7. How does the narrator say Swede's grandfather became a glove manufacturer?

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

9. What does Jerry tell Nathan that his brother Swede had in spite of being a big success in Chapter 3?

10. What reason does Nathan give Jerry for coming to the reunion?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the character Dawn. In what way did Dawn create her own depression by placing the blame on Merry's indiscretions?

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

Discuss the author's use of tone. What details is the author able to introduce about the characters by using varying tones in one chapter?

(see the answer keys)

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