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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. What does the narrator say is in short supply on Halloween night?
(a) Temperance.
(b) Mystery.
(c) Grace.
(d) Fear.

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

4. What accusation does the ghost of the first man Francis killed accuse Francis of?
(a) Murdering his baby.
(b) Selfishness.
(c) Insanity.
(d) Cowardice.

5. What makes it possible for Francis and Rudy to eat at the Mission?
(a) They have money.
(b) They are sober.
(c) They made reservations.
(d) They are homeless.

6. What does Helen say will happen to Francis if he leaves her on the street?
(a) He will freeze.
(b) She will die.
(c) He will forget her.
(d) He will be lost.

7. What are Francis’ feelings about the house he was born in?
(a) He wishes he could go back there.
(b) He wants to burn it down.
(c) He wants to know what it’s like inside now.
(d) He doesn’t care if it falls down.

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

9. What does Gerald hope Francis will do after making this visit?
(a) Stop trying to die.
(b) Make new babies.
(c) Kill himself.
(d) Die in peace.

10. Which of the seven deadly sins prompts Francis to get defensive?
(a) Cowardice.
(b) Greed.
(c) Envy.
(d) Lust.

11. How familiar does Francis say trolleys are to him?
(a) He never rides them.
(b) They are as familiar as his father’s face.
(c) He himself built the trolley he and Rudy ride.
(d) He used to know them well, but has forgotten.

12. Where is Francis Phelan’s family derived from?
(a) Italy.
(b) Ireland.
(c) England.
(d) Germany.

13. What does Francis borrow of Jack’s?
(a) Razor.
(b) Toothbrush.
(c) Journal.
(d) Pen.

14. How does Francis characterize Sandra’s life?
(a) It was redeemed as she died.
(b) It had become angelic.
(c) It wasn’t human any more.
(d) It was squandered.

15. What physically connects Francis to the memory of his son’s death?
(a) The winds in the grass.
(b) The sensation of his own awed astonishment at what happened.
(c) Tears dropping on his shoes.
(d) Birds chirping in the trees.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does the narrator characterize Gerald’s eternal repose?

2. How does Francis characterize his reaction to the death of Dick Doolan?

3. What urge does Francis have when he and Helen leave Jack and Clara’s?

4. Where is Dante’s epigraph from?

5. What knowledge does Francis say he and Rudy share?

(see the answer keys)

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