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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 meal does Posey fix for Chick in the present as he sits at the kitchen table?

2. Who supposedly played in the World Series?

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

4. Why does Chick tell Roberta the truth about Santa Claus that first Christmas after Len left the family?

5. Why does the narrator claim they chose to write the novel in another person's voice?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What did the narrator later find belonging to Chick Benetto that was used in writing this book?

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

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

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

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

7. Why did Posey refer to Chick as a Daddy's boy?

8. Why does the narrator say the story belongs to Chick Benetto?

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

10. Who tells the narrator about Chick Benetto?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why does Chick want to commit suicide? What causes Chick to become that depressed? Does Chick's decision have anything to do with either of his parents? In what way? Does Chick's wife or daughter have anything to do with his decision to commit suicide? Explain. When does Chick realize suicide is not the right answer? Why does Chick decide he must live? How much credit can Chick's mother take for helping Chick change his mind? Was Chick's mother really there with him or was she just a figment of his damaged brain? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

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

1) Point of view

2) The setting

3) Language and meaning

4) The structure, including the use of lists and newspaper announcements throughout the novel.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 769 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample