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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 is Ralph's date behaving?

2. When does Ralph first consider himself a man?

3. How old is Ralph when he goes to the World's Fair?

4. What is the last present opened on Christmas Day in Chapter 2?

5. What is the name of the tavern owner?

Short Essay Questions

1. Is the blind date story an example of the Outsider Looking In theme or the Coming of Age theme? Why?

2. Describe the setting in chapters 9 and 10 and why the author chose such vastly different settings.

3. What skills does Wilbur Duckworth display during the final band performance of his high school career?

4. How does Ralph's mother react to the fight?

5. Ralph is told he will "shoot his eye out" by his mother, his teacher, and Santa. Explain why each is so devastating to his plans.

6. Why is Ralph's life changed forever after the jawbreaker incident at Pulaski's store?

7. Give one example of how the Great Depression affected the Parker family?

8. Why does Ralph think people in Northern Indiana like fireworks so much?

9. What are the three most important things to a Midwesterner?

10. With what does Ralph struggle most in the story about the book report?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the theme "Nothing in life is free" as described in the book. Give examples of how it was used throughout the book. Include your opinion as to whether that statement is true or false, using personal examples.

Essay Topic 2

Why was Adult Flick such a vital character in the book? What was his role, and why would the book have been negatively affected without his character?

Essay Topic 3

Ralph has many theories about people that he shares throughout the book. One such theory is that people are put into two groups: Official People and The Rest of Us. Discuss Ralph's theory, and decide if he is correct or if there are faults with his theory. Use examples from the book.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,057 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample