2. When Paul asks Spenser about his fighting career, he asks if he could have been a champion; and Spenser says no. What is Spenser's reasoning for that answer?

3. Who is the man sitting at the desk in Chapter 25?

4. What is Spenser's solution to the problem discussed in Chapter 23?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Why does Paul force Spenser to wake him the way that he did in Chapter 16?

3. In Chapter 17, Paul asks Spenser why he cannot simply leave him alone. Spenser replies that he cannot leave him alone because everyone in his life has left him alone and it has not done him any good. He also tells Paul that his goal is to help him become a better person. What does Spenser mean by that?

4. Is the violence used in Chapter 24 necessary? Why?

5. Why does Spenser does not take a television to the cabin with him and Paul?

6. Why does Spenser believes that teaching Paul to run is important?

7. Aside from making sure that Paul has a presentable suit to wear to the ballet, what is the point of taking Paul to Louis' to get a suit?

8. What is the lesson that Spenser is trying to teach Paul via the two of them building the cabin together with their own hands instead of hiring someone else to do it or using machinery?

9. Why does Spenser decide to take Paul to Fryeburg and build a cabin?

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

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

Mel and Patty have a complex relationship. They used to be in love, hence their marriage and Paul's birth. Somewhere along the way, that marriage disintegrated, leading to their separation and eventual divorce. Now their only purpose is to hurt each other in any way that they can, specifically to use Paul as the object to do that with.

Part 1) Explore the motivation that the two have to hurt each other the way that they do; why do you think that they do it?

Part 2) What effect has that relationship between his parents had on Paul?

Use specific examples from the text to support your answers.