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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 does Malachy agree to go work in England?
(a) He is tired of Ireland.
(b) His father is living in England.
(c) America has joined the war.
(d) Angela wants to move there.

2. What is Angela's last resort for feeding the children in Chapter 9?
(a) Going to the dispensary.
(b) Selling her belongings.
(c) Asking Agnes to borrow money.
(d) Going to work at Kathleen's shop.

3. Frank's father, Malachy, originally comes to America for what reason?
(a) He wanted to meet Angela.
(b) He is wanted for crimes committed while fighting for the IRA.
(c) He was looking for better job opportunities.
(d) He wanted to escape the weather of Ireland.

4. What does Tommy Flynn say happened to Margaret's body?
(a) The body was cremated.
(b) The body disappeared from the morgue.
(c) Malachy sold her body for drink money.
(d) Margaret was given a proper Catholic burial.

5. Why does the family call the upstairs of their home Italy and the downstairs Ireland?
(a) The children made up the names because both places begin with the same letter.
(b) The downstairs reminds them of home, while upstairs is unfamiliar.
(c) The upstairs is cold and dirty, and the downstairs is where they spend their time.
(d) The downstairs has flooded and the upstairs is warm, like a vacation to Italy.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Frank envision heaven at the end of Chapter 2?

2. After Eugene's death in Chapter 2, why does Frank get angry with his father in the pub?

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

4. Why does it seem that Nora Molloy enjoys being taken to the asylum?

5. For what does Peter Dooley charge Frank?

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. What does Frank miss most about the hospital when he arrives home in Chapter 8? Would you feel the same way?

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

4. Why is Frank so reluctant to take dance lessons in Chapter 5, and why is his mother so insistent that he take them?

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

6. In Chapter 7, the McCourt children have begun to mimic their mother's behavior towards Malachy when he comes home drunk. Describe how they act and whether you think Malachy deserves this.

7. Nora Molloy is often institutionalized in the asylum. How does she feel about these hospitalizations? How are Nora's plight and Angela's plight similar?

8. 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.

9. Why is Mikey not considered a "proper" Catholic?

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

(see the answer keys)

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