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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 did Ralph's father win the "major award"?

2. What is Ralph's term for prime ministers, presidents, cabinet members, and stars?

3. How does Ralph feel when his father pulls up in the driveway when he gets home after his incident with Grover Dill?

4. Where are male children trapped, according to Ralph?

5. Where was the World's Fair held the year Ralph went as a child?

Short Essay Questions

1. What makes Flick think that Ralph has a dirty mind?

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

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

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

5. Describe the setting for many of the stories in the book--Hohman, Indiana.

6. What have we learned about Ralph and his desires in the first eight chapters?

7. Why is Ralph's encounter with the woman at the Automat so important to the story?

8. Why is Wilbur Duckworth considered to be a social outcast?

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

10. Why is Ludlow Kissel infamous in Hohman?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Foreshadowing is used heavily throughout the book. Cite examples of the use of foreshadowing and how it was used to indicate events to come.

Essay Topic 2

What makes the book have a community feel about it that can be related to by a great number of people, regardless of whether they grew up during the Great Depression or in the Midwest?

Essay Topic 3

Which theme was the most powerful in the book and why? Cite examples.

1) An Outsider Looking In

2) Parents Versus Children

3) Nothing in Life Is Free

4) Life Is Not Fair

5) Coming of Age

(see the answer keys)

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