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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 does David go when he arrives at the dock?

2. Why does David ration his prayers to God?

3. What does the man do to surprise David?

4. Why are children more dangerous to David than adults?

5. What does David decide to do at the beginning of Chapter Three, in terms of travel?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain why David knows so many languages, and how this might be able to help him.

2. Explain what the man tells David to do to escape.

3. Explain why David is beat up, and why he refuses to fight back.

4. Explain why David plunges through the thicket instead of going around it.

5. Explain why David doesn't believe he would be good at playing.

6. Explain why David's eating of the orange forced him to consider going into town.

7. What happens to David's clothes, and what is the result of this? How does he feel?

8. Why was it so important for David to clean himself so thoroughly?

9. Explain why David thinks Angelo is stupid.

10. Describe the scene with the man who loses his glasses. What does David do, what is the couple's response, and why is it disturbing for David?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the novel there is reference to David's eyes. This is later linked in the novel to the eyes of Edith, his mother. Explain what people see when they look into David's eyes, in terms of why they find his eyes do unique. What in David's life has led him to show the expression in his eyes that he shows? Why does his mother have the same eyes? How does the author use this to link not only their genetics, but their experiences?

Essay Topic 2

There are many references in the novel to the power of "them", without actual description of who "they" really are. Choose three instances where the author gives information about "them", and explain the reference in detail. What is said about "them"? What does the reference indicate about who "they" might be? How does the author use these vague descriptions to impose a feeling of unfocused dread?

Essay Topic 3

There are several instances in the book where the author uses scenery and seasons as metaphors for times within David's own life. This is particularly true in Chapter Seven, as winter gives way to spring. Explain how Anne Holm uses these seasons as metaphors for David's own life.

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