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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. What does the narration say would be "okay with Larry" (7) at the end of Chapter 1?
(a) A career change.
(b) Sleep.
(c) Death.
(d) Dinner.

2. What had been the real reason behind the date between Cindy and Larry?
(a) Larry had wanted to say he had been on a date with a girl.
(b) Larry had wanted to use the date as a cover to set Cindy up with Silas.
(c) Larry had wanted to use the date as a cover for meeting Silas.
(d) Cindy had wanted to use the date as a cover for a visit to her boyfriend in another town.

3. What type of weapon is the masked man holding when he confronts Larry?
(a) A tazer.
(b) A razor blade.
(c) A gun.
(d) A knife.

4. In what city had Silas spent his early childhood before moving south with his mother?
(a) Chicago.
(b) Detroit.
(c) Indianapolis.
(d) Denver.

5. Who calls Silas in Chapter 4 to tell him that Larry is alive?
(a) Angie.
(b) Alice.
(c) French.
(d) Miss Voncille.

Short Answer Questions

1. From what location does Silas gather items such as broken glass, molds made from tire tracks, and a piece of a marijuana cigarette?

2. Silas explains that he and his classmates had once used Larry for the use of which item, before dropping him again completely?

3. What object does Larry lend to Silas without the knowledge of Larry's father?

4. Whose criminal arrest had led to the urgent need for Silas and his mother's relocation?

5. At the start of the novel, how many murders do Larry's fellow citizens believe he has committed?

Short Essay Questions

1. What details does Franklin use in order to indicate to the reader just how small Cabot, Mississippi really is and how it functions as such?

2. Discuss a moment in the text when Franklin causes the reader to wonder about Larry's role in the murders he is suspected by the community as having committed.

3. Describe the character of Larry's father Carl.

4. What had been the impetus for Silas and his mother's move out of south Chicago?

5. What is meant by the use of the term "curator" (1) in relation to Larry's house?

6. In Chapter 8, at the diner, Silas tells Angie a variety of "things he'd never said out loud" (141). Name several of these.

7. What is the symbolism of the mail truck?

8. What does Silas ultimately find underneath the flock of buzzards?

9. What nickname do the people of Chabot, Mississippi call Silas?

10. In what way does Franklin compare and contrast the respective vehicles belonging to Silas and to Larry?

(see the answer keys)

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