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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. Where did Posey met Len Benetto?

2. During a night of heavy drinking, where does Chick decide to go?

3. Why does Chick believe Posey lost all her friends after the divorce?

4. Who did Chick one day catch using binoculars to stare in his mother's bedroom windows shortly after the divorce?

5. What does Posey tell Chick this word is supposed to represent?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who tells the narrator about Chick Benetto?

2. When is the first time Chick's mother leaves him a special note?

3. What question does the narrator pose at the end of the Introduction?

4. What reason does Posey give for dumping food given to the family by nuns down the disposal?

5. Why does the narrator in the Introduction say you might call this novel a ghost story?

6. What causes Chick's mother to stop playing her favorite record?

7. Why does Chick Benetto drive toward his home town?

8. What after school activity did Chick pick even after his father left?

9. What does Chick say after breakfast that causes his mother to question him?

10. Why does Chick return to his family home? What does he find there?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss ghost stories. Why does the narrator suggest this novel might be a ghost story? Is this novel a ghost story? Who are the ghosts? Are they scary ghosts? Is this novel meant to frighten the reader? Explain. How do the ghosts in this novel change the course of the main character's life? Is this a good change?

Essay Topic 2

Who does Chick see standing over him after he jumps from the water tower? Why does Chick doubt what he is seeing? Who does Chick spend the rest of the day with? Why is this not possible? Why does the impossibility of this not clue Chick in to the idea that something is not right with him? What is the voice Chick continuously hears throughout the day? What does this voice mean to the reader? What does it ultimately mean to Chick? How does Chick respond to the voice?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss one of the following and explain how it is a turning point within the plot:

1) Chick's car accident

2) The visit to Miss Thelma

3) The visit to the home of Chick's father

(see the answer keys)

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