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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. Why is the family receiving less money at the beginning of Chapter 3?
(a) With two less children, the charity gives them less.
(b) With Angela's new job, the charity feels they do not need as much.
(c) There is less money for the charity to give.
(d) Malachy had been drinking away all of the money.

2. In Chapter 6, where do Paddy and Frank go when they skip school?
(a) They go to an orchard to drink water and eat apples.
(b) They go work at the Post Office.
(c) They help Angela with her housework.
(d) They visit their friend Mikey.

3. What is the Confraternity?
(a) A religious organization.
(b) A dancing class.
(c) A soccer club.
(d) An employment agency.

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

5. What is Mr. O'Neill particularly enthusiastic about teaching?
(a) American History.
(b) Biology.
(c) Euclid.
(d) Music.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where does Frank's transfused blood come from?

2. Why does young Malachy have to visit Barrington's Hospital?

3. Why do Frank's classmates laugh at him as they leave the store before Christmas?

4. Why is Frank so understanding when his father is telling Oliver stories about Cuchulain?

5. How does Mikey get hurt?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

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

3. In the beginning of Chapter 9, Angela tells Malachy she is done having children. What is she really saying, considering their religious background?

4. Describe why Frank is ridiculed in Chapter 3 by his classmates when coming home from the butcher, and what this says about the children he goes to school with.

5. What is the overall tone of Chapter 1? What events or details indicate that?

6. Chapter 1 begins the pattern of Malachy losing his jobs. To what extent do you believe he is responsible for this pattern? Is he a victim of fate, or do his actions cause these negative consequences?

7. Why does Peter Dooley want to read the news on the BBC radio? What do you think of his goals?

8. Describe the effect Margaret's death has on the family in Chapter 1.

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. Describe the scene in town on Fridays in Chapter 3 when work is finished. What is the overall atmosphere? How are Angela's feelings different than those of the other women in town?

(see the answer keys)

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