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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 did Len hope his son would do as an adult?

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

3. What does the narrator see that draws her to the place where she will meet the main character of the novel?

4. How does Chick react to the announcement that he was a blessing his mother had waited a long time to receive?

5. Why did Posey choose a tree to place her prayer in?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What is Posey's reaction to Chick's insistence that her presence in the house is impossible?

3. What was Posey's profession at the time of the divorce?

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

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

6. Who tells the narrator about Chick Benetto?

7. Why did Chick have a problem with how his mother would leave him at school?

8. What event caused Chick Benetto to lose faith in himself?

9. When did Chick say he felt he became a Mommy's boy?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

Essay Topic 2

Pick one pair of characters and discuss their relationship to one another in detail, using examples from the novel:

1) Chick and Posey

2) Chick and his father

3) Chick and Marie

4) Chick and his wife

5) Chick and his sister

Essay Topic 3

Discuss character development. Chick changes from the time he is a boy until he becomes an adult, then changes again as he becomes an adult and must deal with his mother's death. Discuss how these changes come about, what causes them, and how they affect Chick's overall attitude toward life. Discuss how these changes bring about other changes in Chick's life, such as his divorce, and how they affect his relationships with those he cares about.

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