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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 habit does the passenger have that drives the narrator absolutely crazy during their car ride in Chapter 4?

2. What is Spenser's response to Patty's "plan" in Chapter 7?

3. What does the narrator buy at Bloomingdale's?

4. How does the narrator get into room 315?

5. Who is the short, dumpy, barrel-bodied man with the ugly wig and an auburn Dynel ski cap who entered Patty's house?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Spenser not like the growing sense of intimacy that he describes in Chapter 10?

2. When Paul arrives home, what is the reaction that mother and son both give and receive?

3. In Chapter 12 we meet Hawk. What kind of a person does Hawk appear to be?

4. What type of person does Patty Giacomin seem to be?

5. Based on what we read in Chapter 2, what types of personal qualities would be necessary to handle Spenser's job? Why?

6. What type of person does Mel Giacomin appear to be?

7. What type of person does the narrator seem to be?

8. Spenser reluctantly takes the job of protecting Patty and Paul from Mel and his thugs. What reservations does Spenser have about taking the job, and why does he take it?

9. What do Paul Giacomin's feelings for his parents appear to be?

10. In Chapter 10, Patty propositions Spenser, who politely rejects her advances. The two have a fairly lengthy discussion about the event, during which we learn more about Patty's feelings of self worth. What are those feelings?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

One major theme throughout the book is autonomy, or self-reliance. We see that Spenser is a very self-reliant individual, and he sees that Paul is not, and that without the skills of autonomy, Paul will not be able to survive on his own. Explore the idea of autonomy as it relates to Paul; what will his world look like if he continues down the path that he was on before he met Spenser. What will his world look like after he leaves Spenser for school? Use instances from the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Another major theme of this story is that of personal responsibility. Explore the idea of personal responsibility as it relates to each major character (Spenser, Susan, Patty, Mel, and Paul). How does each character feel about personal responsibility? How do they demonstrate those beliefs? Use instances from the text to support your answers.

Essay Topic 3

Spenser and Susan both support Paul's dream to become a dancer. In fact, they take him to see live dance performances and help him find a school where he can learn about dance. How important will that support be for Paul as he enters his new school? How about in the rest of his life? How is it different from the support that his parents agreed to give to him?

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