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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. Philomena urges Angela to make sure she doesn't have anymore children. Why?
(a) Angela is sick and her health would suffer.
(b) There isn't enough room for another child.
(c) Malachy has been unfaithful to Angela.
(d) Malachy drinks too much and does not have a job.

2. Why does the man at the IRA office refuse to give Malachy money for the bus fare home?
(a) The IRA is completely out of money.
(b) The man is angry that Malachy wasted his time.
(c) Malachy also requested money for a pint of beer.
(d) The man believes that Malachy has enough money.

3. What kind of teacher is Mr. Benson?
(a) Selfish and greedy, refusing to teach the boys about Catholicism.
(b) Quiet and timid, answering questions slowly and only when asked multiple times.
(c) Kind and nurturing to the boys and excited to talk about his faith.
(d) Devoted to his Catholicism, but hates answering questions about it.

4. How does Mr. Benson have the boys practice for communion?
(a) The boys eat pieces of stale bread.
(b) Mr. Benson has the boys swallow bits of newspaper.
(c) The boys practice drinking alcohol.
(d) Mr. Benson gives the boys tea and cookies.

5. How does Frank envision heaven at the end of Chapter 2?
(a) A place with plenty of food and music and dancing.
(b) A place where there is no rain.
(c) A place without drunk fathers, with plenty of food, and with his other dead siblings.
(d) An empty place, like the inside of a coffin.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Mikey get hurt?

2. How do the McCourts get back to Angela's family?

3. For what does Peter Dooley charge Frank?

4. Why does Angela go to Malachy's job?

5. What does Frank read to Mr. Timoney?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. How does the reader see Frank's emerging sexuality in Chapter 8?

4. 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?

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

6. Frank is hospitalized again in Chapter 9. What might this tell you about his overall health, and what might be the cause of it?

7. Describe your first impression of Angela's mother in Chapter 2. What kind of woman does she appear to be?

8. 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?

9. Discuss Malachy's attitude towards work in Chapter 3.

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

(see the answer keys)

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