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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 Merry study that is the reverence of life?

2. What does Swede decide that Sheila is rather than omniscient?

3. What does the person Swede calls after he has seen Merry in Chapter 6 tell him to do in regard to Merry?

4. How much money does Rita keep from Merry that was from Swede?

5. What does Swede's brother refer to him as because he cannot take the brutality of the world?

Short Essay Questions

1. What reason does Swede say is the only reason Dawn entered beauty pageants?

2. How does Swede describe Barry Umanoff and Marcia Schwartz's marriage?

3. How does Sheila explain her reason for taking Merry in, to Swede in Chapter 9?

4. What does Swede witness when he walks in on Dawn and Bill in his kitchen during the dinner party?

5. What is the nature of the letter Swede receives from Rita at the beginning of Chapter 5?

6. How does Marcia describe Dawn's beauty pageants?

7. How does Swede describe the time during the riots with his employee Vicky?

8. What is the nature of Lou's discussion regarding the downfall of Newark in Chapter 8?

9. How does Merry live as a Jain?

10. How does Swede compare his life to Johnny Appleseed?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the character Dawn and Marcia. What do the differences in these two characters' ideologies suggest about the natures of their characters?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the role of stuttering in the book. What did Merry's bout with stuttering suggest about her mental health?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the portrayal of the family structure in the book. What might the author be saying about the typical portrayal of the family structure based on his depiction of Swede's family?

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