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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. In Chapter 26, where do Paul and Spenser stay the first night?

2. How does Susan describe the relationship that parents have with their children?

3. What is already built on Susan's rural property?

4. Who is already there when Spenser arrives at his destination in Chapter 13?

5. What does Spenser tell Paul that they are going to do with Susan's rural property?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Susan's opinion about Spenser keeping Paul?

2. What type of character is Harry Cotton?

3. How is the reader likely to feel when Patty shows up to take Paul home in Chapter 22?

4. Does Susan make a good point about parental rights in Chapter 23? Why? Why not?

5. How does Susan feel about Spenser sending Paul and Patty to her house in Chapter 13?

6. Was it a good idea for Spenser and Paul to break into Mel's office? Why? Why not?

7. In Chapter 21 we are able to see how Paul is growing both physically and emotionally. How has he grown?

8. Why does Paul's revelation that he would like to be a dancer important?

9. How does Spenser handle the confrontation with Patty in Chapter 22?

10. Why does Spenser send Paul and Patty to Susan's house in Chapter 13?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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