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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. From what school has Dru just graduated?

2. To what college will Mike be going?

3. What does Jeremy tell Dru?

4. What does Dru tell Scooter?

5. How long did Dru's mother and father know each other before they were married?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is it like at the Nail right before Elisa and Scooter jump, what does Lizzie say and what does Mike do with Dru?

2. What does Dru ask Elisa about concerning her secret and what is Elisa's response?

3. What does Jeremy say to Dru when she sees him?

4. How is Elisa awoken after Dru had put her to bed and what does she do about Scooter's invitation? How does Dru react?

5. What do Scooter and Elisa bring to the Nail with them, how is Scooter feeling, how does Elisa react to Dru and what does Scooter go do?

6. How does Diane feel about Mike?

7. What does Mike say about his father and Dru's mother in the car?

8. What does Mike say about Scooter jumping?

9. Whose house does Dru pass and what does she think when she passes it?

10. What does Dru do after Elisa falls asleep and how does she feel about her dad?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

There are a number of interesting questions raised by "Jumping the Nail". Questions that Bunting most likely want readers to consider and think through carefully. Discuss the following:

1. What does the term "author agenda" mean?

2. Name one idea/concept you think may have been a part of Bunting's agenda. Analyze that idea throughout the book and discuss Bunting's probable agenda concerning that idea.

2. Do you think writers who have an agenda for writing should point it out in a preface?

3. How often do you think fiction is written with a clear agenda in mind by the author?

4. Research the life of Bunting and see if/where her life may have influenced her writing.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the following:

1. What is a plot? What are the most important elements of a plot and their definition? Do all novels have a plot? Why or why not?

2. Write a brief synopsis of the plot of "Jumping the Nail", identifying where the various elements of the plot occur (Exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution or denouement.) Do you find it difficult to identify the plot? Why or why not? What about the various elements of the plot?

3. Identify the major sub-plots and their elements in "Jumping the Nail". (The subplots may not contain every element of a major plot). Do the sub-plots add to the main plot? Why or why not. Are the sub-plots interesting in and of themselves? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Elisa represents the battered woman. She has battered woman syndrome in an emotional sense. She does not see how Scooter really treats her and accepts the emotional abuse as part of her life. Even when Dru points out his controlling number counting, Elisa defends him. She chooses to be emotionally abused and Dru remembers that other people see this too, as she remembers Tom's comment.

1. With research, discuss why Elisa displays the symptoms of an emotionally battered woman. Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

2. Do you think Scooter's behavior towards Elisa is controlling or do you think it is typical teenage male behavior? Why or why not? Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

3. Discuss what you would say to a good friend who was in a relationship where their significant other abused them emotionally or degraded them as a person. Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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