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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 kind of cafe does Piri enter in Mobile?

2. What did Brew drop on one of the boys' faces?

3. What does Piri's mother tell Piri before he leaves?

4. What is Gerald's position at the bar?

5. What does James say has happened to Trina?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Piri feel about Trina marrying another man?

2. Describe the argument between Piri and his brother, Jose.

3. Why must Piri and Brew sit at the back of the bus?

4. Describe Jose and James' physical appearance.

5. What does Piri think the girl who rubbed against him on the train said to her friends?

6. Why does Little say he did not throw more punches at Piri's midsection?

7. Describe the system the gang uses to rob bars and stores.

8. How does Piri get off heroin?

9. What are Brew and Piri's opinion of Gerald?

10. How do Brew and Piri ensure a job for themselves on a ship?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose one of the following and examine how it helped Piri to focus on improving himself as a person while in prison:

1) Prison routine

2) Denial of parole

3) Religion

Essay Topic 2

What did Piri experience in Harlem and how did those experiences shape his character? Would Piri have entered a life of crime if he had grown up in another area of the country?

Essay Topic 3

Look at the structure of the book.

1) Discuss elements of the narrative structure: exposition, conflict, complication, climax, resolution and conclusion. Do all the elements make for a logical and linear story? How does the story's structure express the book's ideas?

2) Examine the way Piri uses other people in the story to express his ideas.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 799 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample