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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 Douglas record his time traveling encounter?

2. Which category of his summer did Douglas decide remounting the porch swing with his grandfather fell into?

3. What did Mr. Bentley compare items from the past as?

4. What does Douglas believe will happen if he gets new sneakers?

5. What is considered Douglas and Tom's first rite of the summer?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Douglas believe that he must get new sneakers to keep his new found sense of aliveness?

2. Describe a typical summer night for Douglas' family.

3. What great secret does Douglas believe his father and Tom have already realized?

4. What new revelation does Douglas come to by dividing up his summer?

5. What can be said that Leo has tampered with when he follows through on building the Happiness Machine?

6. Which brother seems more like the father and in what way do they seem to be the same?

7. How do Tom's fears come to surround him, make him feel, and expand into his imagination?

8. What portion of this section of the novel is the best example of the division between the elderly and the young?

9. What ruins Douglas' zest for life and desire to take in every new detail?

10. What ritual does Douglas take comfort in that relates to the adults in his life?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Kinship and personal connections are often explored throughout the novel. How and why is this an important part of the novel's themes? Do you agree with the way the author portrays these concepts? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

The overall tone of this novel could be described as enchanting childhood summers. What examples from the text support this tone? Are there events that do not support this tone? If so what are they? If not, why do you think there are none?

Essay Topic 3

Children in the novel often live in the present, not the past or future. In what way do some of the adults in this novel live the same way? Think of an adult that you know that lives this same way. Do you think it is a good way to live? Use their experiences to support your judgment.

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