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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 hires the narrator in Chapter 1?

2. In Chapter 3, who else is in the house besides the narrator and the two people in the living room?

3. What favor does Patty ask of Spenser in Chapter 5?

4. Why does Spenser not want a personal relationship with Patty?

5. In Chapter 3, after the narrator enters the house and confronts the two people inside, how do the people react?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. 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?

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

5. What does Spenser's rescue plan for Patty and Paul along with its execution show us about yet another part of Spenser's personality?

6. What does Spenser's preparation of the impromptu meal in Chapter 9 reveal about his character?

7. In Chapter 6 we are introduced to Spenser's girlfriend, Susan Silverman. What type of a person does she seem to be, and how does that contrast or compliment Spenser's personality?

8. What does the discussion that Patty and Spenser have in Chapter 8 reveal to the audience about Patty's real character?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Spenser feels that in order for Paul to be autonomous, he must learn to work with his hands and have structure and order in his life. To illustrate this, Spenser adheres to a routine of physical exercise and construction on the cabin mixed in with new experiences like going to museums and listening to baseball games on the radio. Do you agree with Spenser that such activities and lessons as these (and the others described in the book) are important to Paul's becoming autonomous? Why? Why not? Use the text to support your answers.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Paul Giacomin is at the heart of this story. He is the boy whose parents fight over him as if he were property; and the boy whom Spenser fights for in order to save his life. Explore Paul's character. Look through the text and use examples from it to support your ideas in relation to the kind of a person that Paul was before he met Spenser, and what kind of a person he was when he left Spenser to go to school.

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