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This test consists of 5 short answer questions and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Ralph thinks that people from northern Indiana especially enjoy:

2. What hit a high-tension electrical wire during the parade?

3. What does Ralph feel when he watches halftime shows on televised football games?

4. What causes a riot at the Orpheum?

5. Who else, besides Ralph, is an outsider looking in during Chapter 24?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Ralph's innocence keeps him out of trouble during a couple of stories in the book. Compare and contrast at least two events in which Ralph was saved from punishment because of his youth and innocence. Explore what was his actual punishment and whether that punishment was more or less effective than one that could have come from an adult. Discuss the irony in how his youth kept him from getting into big trouble even as he was trying to be more grown up.

Essay Topic 2

What perceptions did you have about the Midwest before reading this book? Have any of those perceptions been changed? What makes the Midwest different from other parts of the country? What makes it the same? Why was the Midwest the setting for the book? How did it help develop the stories Ralph told?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the Old Man and Ralph's mother. Why weren't they given actual names? What was their relationship like with each other? What was their relationship like with Ralph? How did they each influence and shape Ralph?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 310 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample