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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. Where does John's family live?

2. What does John say Robby feels about Garth's death?

3. What does John say Garth's status was, in the neighborhood?

4. When did John realize the effect of Garth's death on Robby?

5. How many years separate John and Robby?

Short Essay Questions

1. What kind of blackness was expected of John in college?

2. How does John characterize the freedom gained by escaping from a situation or place?

3. How does John characterize the prisoners?

4. How does John say Robby changed his mother?

5. How does John characterize the significance of Robby's birthday?

6. Describe the style and format of 'Brothers and Keepers'.

7. How does John treat the prisoners?

8. Who travels to the prison to visit Robby?

9. Describe the geography of "Brothers and Keepers".

10. How are Jamila and Robby related in John's mind?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Assess the proposition that prisons are an inhumane form of retribution for crimes such as Robby's.

Essay Topic 2

Who is the ideal audience for "Brothers and Keepers"? What kinds of lessons does it teach, and what kind of life and ideas does it describe? Who would this account appeal to? What kinds of courses would this book be perfect for? Where else could it be added to a curriculum?

Essay Topic 3

What is missing from this book? What should have been covered or presented that was not? What is the effect of this absence? Describe an element that ought to have been covered, and explain why it would have made the book stronger.

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