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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. What does John say he sees in himself by looking at the prisoners?

2. What does John say commenced after Garth's death?

3. What was the Homewood Avenue district?

4. What caused the prison revolt in 1980?

5. How many years separate John and Robby?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does John characterize Robby's temperament?

2. How does John describe his and his siblings' background?

3. What does John say Jamila knows of Robby?

4. Where does John say Robby has a place in Jamila's life?

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

6. Why was Robby expelled from high school in 1968?

7. How does Robby characterize himself as a young man?

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

9. What happened to Robby that he was wanted by the police?

10. Why does John say it might have been a mistake to bring Robby home with him?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast John and Robby's attitudes about money. How are they similar? How are they different? How did John change from the ghetto mentality about money to something else?

Essay Topic 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

How does John define freedom in "Brothers and Keepers", and how does he exercise his freedom? In what ways is he NOT free? How does his lack of freedom compare with his brother's? Is he just a different kind of prisoner? Is he freer because he has stayed clear of the law? Is he free because he has work that supports him? What does freedom reside in?

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