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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. Which of the following are the major themes of this section?

2. What does Douglas suggest he and Tom own together?

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

4. What does Douglas test John on in the hopes that John will remember Douglas for a long time?

5. How many days does Leo spend working on the Happiness Machine?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do Douglas and his father experience very differently and provide one example of how they see the same event quite differently?

2. How does Douglas convince the shoe store owner to give him the new shoes and how does this process help the shoe store owner himself?

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

4. Describe, in detail, the major themes focused on within this section of reading.

5. What brings Douglas comfort after so many things that he loves have all changed and ended at once?

6. How and why is Colonel Freeleigh a real time machine, though not a mechanical contraption?

7. What revelation does Leo come to after the Happiness Machine burns?

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

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

10. What does the beating of the rugs symbolize to Douglas and Tom both?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Many things change in this novel. Provide details describing how both the adults and children handle change in the novel. Use specific details from the novel to support your description.

Essay Topic 3

How is the theme of aging developed throughout the novel? Use specific examples from the text to support your statements. Do you believe the author does a good job at developing this theme? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 712 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample