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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. How long ago do the police discover it had been since the man who was shot at the beginning of the book had been accosted on a bus for the very first time?

2. What is the Italian name for the police that is used in the book?

3. How is the informant to the police on the mafia's payment described?

4. Who does the old man shown in Section 4 believe make a fool of most of the men in the city?

5. What does the captain suggest is the reason for the man being shot during his interview with the informant on the mafia?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is the captain able to get reliable information from Little Priest in Section 2 despite knowing he was lying to him?

2. What does Mrs. Nicolosi reveal to police regarding a nickname in Section 3?

3. What is the nature of the letter Little Priest sends to police in Section 5?

4. What is the nature of the conversation between two Sicilian men at the beginning of Section 2?

5. How does an old man say one can avoid being cuckolded in Section 4?

6. Why does Little Priest feel guilty at the beginning of Section 5?

7. What is the nature of most of the bus passengers police track down regarding the shooting in Section 1?

8. How does Little Priest act in public after meeting with police in Section 5?

9. What does Mrs. Nicolosi tell police regarding her husband's actions on the day Salvatore was murdered?

10. Why does the police captain tell Giuseppe he believes his brother was shot in Section 1?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the nature of power that is portrayed in the book, namely in regards to the police and the mafia. How do these two groups seek and use power differently and similarly? What does this use of power tell us about the nature of each organization?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the nature of the police that is presented in the book. How might the police be considered as bad as the mafia given the way they conduct Salvatore's murder investigation and why is this significant in regards to better understanding human nature in the book?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the concept of loyalty that is presented in the characters involved with the mafia in the book. How does the mafia use loyalty to secure their safety and how to they make this an effective method in their members?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 744 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample