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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. What does Chick notice his car ran into and is now stopped underneath?

2. How late for work was Chick on the Monday morning after receiving the evidence of the family event he missed?

3. What did Len hope his son would do as an adult?

4. Who does the narrator claim the story from this novel belongs to?

5. What meal that Posey makes does Len Benetto often complain she cannot make properly?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Who does Chick see when he jumps from the water tower?

3. What draws Chick's attention to the table top in his mother's kitchen as his mother treats his wounds?

4. What word did Chick's mother help Chick find the definition for despite his father's disapproval of her help?

5. What happens on the way to Chick's hometown?

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

7. What game does the narrator learn that Chick Benetto once played as a professional player?

8. What one thing does Chick recall always made his parents happy?

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

10. What offends Chick when a man calls his mother a divorcee?

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

Discuss one of the following in detail, including examples from the novel:

1) Lessons Chick learned after spending the day with his dead mother

2) The time period in which the novel is set and how that might have influenced the behaviors of characters in the novel, both main characters and minor characters

3) The tone of the novel, including any changes to the tone that might take place as the plot continues to develop

Essay Topic 3

Discuss father-daughter relationships. How is Chick's relationship with his daughter like his own relationship with his father? How is Chick's relationship with his daughter like his relationship with his mother? Why is Chick's relationship with his daughter important to the plot of the novel? Who is Chick's daughter? How is Chick's sister's relationship with their mother different from Chick's relationship with their mother? Is this difference important to the developing plot? Explain.

(see the answer keys)

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