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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. What did Joe think when he read THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII?

2. How does Joe feel about Harper as he is on his way back home from the desert?

3. What do some of the soldiers in France do that are too scared to talk?

4. What does Joe think is crawling on him?

5. What is Joe trying to figure out how to tell his father when they go camping?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe how Joe is feeling while working in the desert.

2. Why does Joe wish someone would pick up the phone and what happens when they do?

3. Who is the pilot who comes to Joe's hometown, what does he do and what does the superintendent of schools say about airplanes?

4. How far does Joe walk to get to the bakery and how much money does he make?

5. Why does he worry about a ring? What kind of ring is it and who gave it to him?

6. Describe the scene at Joe's parents house when he arrives home after his father died.

7. Why does Joe think he is dying and why does he know he is alive?

8. What idea does Pinky Carson come up with for Jose and how does that work out?

9. What are the two problems Jose talks to the guys at the bakery about?

10. How does Joe come to know he has no face?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Joe Bonham also has to join, and ends up lying in bed, thinking this is no place for him, no war for him, none of his business. What does he care about making the world safe for democracy?

1. Compare Joe's feelings about war and his assertion that it is none of his business with the ideas many Vietnam draftees expressed.

2. Do you think Joe's reaction to war is a common reaction for draftees? Why or why not?

3. The idea that rich, political persons declare war but the common, poor person fights them. Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

When a new nurse if finally able to understand that Joe is tapping out words using Morse Code, hope and joy infuse Joe. Discuss the following:

1. How does Joe finally manage to communicate with the new nurse?

2. What are Joe's reactions to communicating? Give examples.

3. Why do you think Joe offers to be a "circus" exhibit? Do you think he would eventually regret such an offer? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

The first section of the book begins a theme that finds its culmination in the final chapters--the idea of dying for one's country and "freedom." Discuss one of the following:

1. During the last conflict in which there was a draft (Vietnam), many men choose to leave the United States rather than fight in a war in which they do not believe. Discuss how Joe views his being drafted and the reasons he accepts his legal obligation. How does he think about this same subject near the end of the book?

2. Is it ever moral to refuse to serve one's country? Take a stance and give detailed examples to support it.

3. Compare and contrast a war/conflict in which the United States was involved which seemed justifiable with one that does not seem as such.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,144 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample