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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. In the Chapter 11 excerpt from the Senate hearing, what concern do the senators express?

2. When Tamaya's mother first sees Tamaya's rash, what does she mistake it for?

3. On page 33, when Tamaya tells Chad to leave Marshall alone, what does Chad say to Tamaya?

4. When Marshall tells Tamaya he is sorry after she falls down in the woods, what is he apologizing for?

5. Why does Hope call Tamaya a "Goody Two-shoes" (5)?

Short Essay Questions

1. When he is lying away on the night after Chad's attack, what does Marshall decide is his best hope for a final ending to the situation with Chad?

2. What advice of Ms. Filbert's does Tamaya think about as she is about to go into the woods, and why does she think about it?

3. When other students speak up for Marshall during Mrs. Thaxton's questioning, what does this reveal about the situation with Chad turning everyone against Marshall?

4. What does Tamaya and her mother's nighttime routine communicate about their relationship?

5. How does knowing about Chad's threats make Chapter 5 more tense and suspenseful for the reader?

6. What does Tamaya rub in Chad's face, and how does Chad react?

7. What irony does Jonathan Fitzman see in the senators' questions about the ergonyms escaping into the environment?

8. What do the descriptions of the outside and inside of Tamaya's house communicate about her home?

9. Describe Tamaya's relationship with her parents.

10. What does Tamaya's response to the balloon writing prompt demonstrate about her as a person?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Think again about the action and inaction of Tamaya and Marshall when Chad disappears. Are there other characters in this story who know that something bad is happening and either step up to try to help or stand back and try to ignore the problem? Is the story trying to say that one of these choices is morally better than the other? Is the story conveying something about how personality and circumstance both influence whether we make "good" or "bad" moral choices? Write an essay that looks at Tamaya, Marshall, and at least two other characters faced with the choice between standing up for what is right and ignoring the problem. In your essay, make and defend a claim about what message the book is trying to send about situations like this. Support your arguments with evidence drawn from throughout the book. If you use quoted evidence, remember to cite it in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

Dramatic irony is created when the reader knows something important that a character does not yet know. How does Sachar use false documents to create dramatic irony? How does this contribute to the reader's interest in the text? Why is the impact of this dramatic irony stronger because the other chapters share Tamaya's and Marshall's perspectives? Write an essay that explains how the false documents in this novel create dramatic irony, suspense, and tension and how these documents enhance the reader's investment in finding out what will happen next. Support your ideas with evidence drawn from throughout the text, and remember that if you use quoted evidence, this should be cited in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

When you began reading this novel, you made a guess about whether Tamaya would be a static or dynamic character. What kind of a person is she at the beginning of this book? How do you know? What kind of a person is she at the end? How do you know? Does this make her a static or a dynamic character? After you have an answer to these questions, write an essay that makes a claim about whether Tamaya is a static or dynamic character and that uses evidence from the beginning, middle, and end of the text to support your claim. Remember that if you use quoted evidence, this should be cited in MLA format.

(see the answer keys)

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