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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 Robby say he found when his girlfriend woke him up after buying heroin?

2. When did the other guys get away?

3. How had John changed Robby's voice in the first draft?

4. How does John object when the guard doesn't let him sit at the lawyer-client table?

5. Who is shooting at Robby?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Robby characterize his career in fencing operations?

2. How did Robby come to believe that Stavros had a gun?

3. How does John describe Robby's arrest after the drug deal in Detroit?

4. How is John's 1982 visit unusual?

5. How does John describe Robby's drug deal in Detroit?

6. How did Robby and his crew pull off the robbery?

7. What pact did the robbers make, and how did it get broken?

8. How did Robby and his crew get assistance on the night of the robbery?

9. What does Robby say was his impulse after the robbery?

10. Describe Robby's meeting with Johnny-Boy.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Write a character sketch of the author based on his style and content. What values does he hold dear? What are his hopes and fears? What kind of person do you think he is? What life experiences has he had? Anchor your sketch in passages in the book.

Essay Topic 3

How does John characterize his brother? What literary techniques does he use to bring his brother to life as a literary character? How does his characterization change throughout the course of the memoir, as he writes one draft and then another? What does John learn about himself and his brother in the process of trying to capture this story in writing?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 847 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample