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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Rudy tell Francis the doctor diagnosed him with?
(a) Alcoholism.
(b) Heart trouble.
(c) Dementia.
(d) Cancer.

2. What role had Dick Doolan played in Francis’ life?
(a) He tried to cut off Francis’ feet.
(b) He played baseball with Francis.
(c) He was the one who took Francis in when Francis was running from the law.
(d) He was killed when Francis hit him with a stone.

3. Where is Dante’s epigraph from?
(a) The Purgatorio.
(b) The Paradiso.
(c) The Vita Nuova.
(d) The Inferno.

4. What does Daddy Big say Francis’ son Billy did for him?
(a) Got him work.
(b) Gave him money.
(c) Kept him from choking when he was sick.
(d) Gave him a place to dry out.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Francis characterize Clara?

2. What had Dick Doolan’s job been, when he worked in the Tenderloin?

3. What does Francis say he would like to do to his mother?

4. What accusation does the ghost of the first man Francis killed accuse Francis of?

5. Where does Helen sleep after she and Francis leave Jack and Clara’s?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Francis end up with a job shoveling dirt at the cemetery?

2. What does Francis’ conversation with Rudy tell us about his relationship with Helen?

3. What effect is created by the author’s sophisticated vocabulary?

4. What does Jack say Francis could have if he got straight, and what is Francis’ response?

5. What expression does Francis use when something is finally and absolutely concluded?

6. What price does Helen pay for sleeping in Finny’s car?

7. What does Francis say is the curve of Clara’s life?

8. What is the message of the song Helen sings to Francis?

9. How did Francis come to see Aldo Campione die?

10. Describe the environment of the Gilded Cage.

(see the answer keys)

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