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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 Piri's mother tell Piri before he leaves?

2. Where were Little's punches doing the most damage to Piri?

3. What meal does the family gather for the next day?

4. What will Brew and Piri have to do when they cross the Mason-Dixon line?

5. Which of Piri's friends does he have a fight with?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Brew think the term "boy" is acceptable?

2. How does Piri become addicted to heroin?

3. Why does Rocky want to fight with Piri?

4. What are Piri and Brew's plans in Section 5?

5. What is Piri's sentence for shooting the policeman and for the robbery?

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

7. What problems does Gerald say he has being part Negro?

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

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

10. What does Piri's father tell him in at breakfast in Section 5?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine Piri's relationship with his father.

1) In what way did Piri's relationship with his father have a major impact on the decisions he made in his life?

2) How does Piri's relationship with his father deteriorate through the book?

Essay Topic 2

Outline Piri's prison routine How do the students think this routine benefited Piri? How did Piri make the most of his days?

Essay Topic 3

What insight does Piri give about the Great Depression in the Thirties? How do Piri's parents cope with the Great Depression? In what way does the Great Depression destroy, or almost destroy, the lives of people close to Piri? What did American society learn from the Great Depression in the Thirties?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 838 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample