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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How does Francis characterize his reaction to the death of Dick Doolan?
(a) He was intent on praying for redemption.
(b) He was compelled to flee.
(c) He was determined to justify the death.
(d) He was driven to confess.

2. What does Francis say to Rudy when Rudy says that he ain’t dead yet?
(a) You ain’t alive, either.
(b) That’s what you think.
(c) It’s just a matter of time.
(d) You will be. You will be.

3. How do Francis and Rudy characterize themselves?
(a) Bums.
(b) Gypsies.
(c) Wanderers.
(d) Vagrants.

4. Where does Francis sleep after he and Helen leave Jack and Clara’s?
(a) The Mission.
(b) Finney's car.
(c) The weeds.
(d) A barn.

5. What had Dick Doolan’s job been, when he worked in the Tenderloin?
(a) Cop.
(b) Bouncer.
(c) Pickpocket.
(d) Gangster.

6. Where does Helen sleep?
(a) The Mission.
(b) A flop.
(c) Jack's.
(d) Finny’s car.

7. What does the narrator say was Francis’ relationship with prayer?
(a) He prayed religiously for his health and others’.
(b) He prayed for forgiveness for his sins.
(c) He never knew what to pray for.
(d) He always resisted speaking to imaginary people.

8. What day of the year does Ironweed start on?
(a) Day of the Dead.
(b) Halloween.
(c) All Souls’ Day.
(d) All Saints’ Day.

9. What do Francis and the others do with Sandra?
(a) Take her to a flop.
(b) Leave her in the cold.
(c) Call her an ambulance.
(d) Move her body into the Mission.

10. The narrator says that Francis was “staunchly resolute” in the face of what?
(a) Capricious and adverse fate.
(b) A knife attack.
(c) The need to quit drinking.
(d) Suffering.

11. What metaphor does Francis use to describe himself as a ball player?
(a) Hawk.
(b) Dog.
(c) Car.
(d) Train.

12. What is the price Helen pays for sleeping where she does after leaving Clara's house?
(a) Six dollars.
(b) Two dollars.
(c) She stays for free.
(d) A sex act.

13. How does Francis describe Helen to Rudy?
(a) He says that she never gives him any peace with her nagging.
(b) He says that he can never tell where she is.
(c) He says that he can’t wait to be finished with her.
(d) He says that she’s the best woman he’s ever known.

14. How does the narrator characterize Francis’ mother’s reaction to his arrival in the cemetery?
(a) Furious.
(b) Nervous.
(c) Relieved.
(d) Delighted.

15. How did Aldo Campione die?
(a) Fell from a train.
(b) Shot in the back.
(c) His neck was broken in a fight.
(d) He died of exposure.

Short Answer Questions

1. How long have Francis and Helen known each other?

2. What role had Dick Doolan played in Francis’ life?

3. Where does Francis Phelan find his family’s graves?

4. What does Helen lose on her way back to the Mission?

5. What was Francis Phelan’s batting average in 1916?

(see the answer keys)

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