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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What do Paddy and Frank eat when they go to Finlan's for lunch?
(a) Potato soup.
(b) Scraps from last night's dinner.
(c) They are not fed.
(d) Bread and jam.

2. Why do Philomena, Delia, Mrs. Leibowitz, and Minnie write to Angela's mother?
(a) They want Angela's mother to send money so that Angela and her family can move back to Ireland.
(b) They want Angela's mother to come to America to visit.
(c) They want Angela's mother to take care of Frank.
(d) They want Angela's mother to convince Angela to leave Malachy.

3. When Angela says that God has not been "seen lately in the lanes of Limerick," to what is she referring?
(a) Frank's illness.
(b) Their trip to Limerick.
(c) Malachy's chronic unemployment.
(d) Frank's bad behavior.

4. What does Frank confess at his first confession?
(a) He was disrespectful to his mother.
(b) He was thinking dirty thoughts about girls.
(c) He was drinking in the alley after school.
(d) He was listening to dirty stories.

5. Why is Frank afraid to go home in Chapter 6?
(a) His father found out he went to the cinema.
(b) There will be no food at home.
(c) His mother has consumption.
(d) He has learned that his parents know he skipped school.

Short Answer Questions

1. For what religious event is Frank preparing for in Chapter 9?

2. What does Grandma mean when she says that she has "God in me backyard?"

3. Why does Mr. Downes return to Ireland?

4. In Chapter 6, where do Paddy and Frank go when they skip school?

5. Why does Angela slide into a deep depression?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 5, Malachy begins to write letters for people who are unable to write. He always tells these people to keep their money, but Angela always takes it. What does this tell you about their priorities?

2. Why is Frank afraid to go home in Chapter 6?

3. When Frank arrives home from the hospital in Chapter 8, he realizes that Malachy is unemployed again. Should Frank be surprised by this? Why or why not?

4. In Chapter 5, we see again Angela questioning her faith. What is causing her to lose faith?

5. There are several instances where Frank begins to show his rebellious nature in Chapter 5. Describe these instances.

6. Consider the image of Malachy placing a pint of beer on Eugene's coffin in Chapter 2. What does this image represent to you? What does it mean?

7. Grandpa McCourt sends the family money in Chapter 7, and Malachy spends it on alcohol. Why is this particular act more despicable than Malachy's others?

8. Describe the treatment of the boys in Frank's class in Chapter 6 by the teachers and headmasters.

9. What does Grandma's attitude towards first communion and first confession in Chapter 4 tell you about the role of Catholicism in their lives?

10. Why does the man at the IRA office refuse Malachy and his family bus fare home in Chapter 2?

(see the answer keys)

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