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

2. Who leaves with the narrator in Chapter 3?

3. Who is the tall man with the boot camp crew-cut and a navy watch cap who entered Patty's house?

4. What is the narrator hired to do in Chapter 1?

5. What is Patty's reasoning for being married?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. If you were Spenser, what would you have done differently in Chapter 2?

3. 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?

4. How does Spenser diffuse the situation between himself, Buddy, and Harold in Chapter 11?

5. In the scene where Paul arrives home, Patty is entertaining a male guest, Stephen Court. How does that scene make you feel?

6. 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?

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

8. In April, after Mel's thugs try to kidnap Paul, Patty Giacomin calls Spenser for help once again. This time, she asks Spenser to protect her and Paul. Why does Patty desperately call Spenser when she experiences trouble with her ex-husband in relation to her son?

9. In Chapter 8, Patty makes breakfast for herself and Spenser after Spenser drops Paul off at school. During breakfast the two of them get into a somewhat heated discussion about the roles of men and women in life, as well as their places in society. What are Patty's views on the topic as shown by that discussion?

10. Do you think that it was wise for Spenser to have entered Giacomin's house the way that he did?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

If you were the author of "Early Autumn", what is one aspect of the story that you would change? Why would you change it? How would it affect the overall story?

Essay Topic 2

Throughout the course of the book, Paul learns some less than savory facts about both of his parents. He seems to handle that information well, but sometimes it can be difficult to really understand what another person is going through just by the way they look or how they talk. Using the information about Paul that we know from the text, what do you think his feelings about his parents are after he finds out their "dirty laundry"? Use examples from the text to support your ideas.

Essay Topic 3

Mel Giacomin is the main antagonist (villain, bad guy) of the story. He is not a very complex character, and has very few personality aspects. Unlike Spenser, when he is faced with some tough decisions, he does not make good ones. and definitely makes some decisions which could be viewed as morally problematic. In a story rife with "bad guys" and "seedy characters", what makes Mel the antagonist of this story? Use instances from the text to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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