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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 does Tom say when the music stops?

2. What does Mike say to her about how he feels?

3. What does Dru do after her mother comes home in Chapter 13?

4. What do Mike and Dru decide to do the day after the dinner party?

5. What does Dru's mother tell her when she gets home?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Claire, what does Dru discuss with her and what does she ask Dru? What is Dru's response?

2. What is Diane wearing to the celebration, what does she proclaim Scooter and Elisa and with what does she present them?

3. What does Elisa want Dru to warn Tom about and what does Dru say to Tom?

4. What does Mike ask Dru out on the terrace, and what is her response?

5. Where has Dru and her family been invited, how does her mother react to the invitation and how does Dru feel about it?

6. How does Elisa feel about going up to the presentation, what does Dru tell her and what does she continue to see?

7. How does Mike feel about the invitation to Dru's family and what does he say about telling an adult about the jumping?

8. What does MIke tell Dru about Diane, Tom and Hopi?

9. Who picks Dru up at Elisa's and how does she get ready to go to the party?

10. What happens when and right after the twins jump?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

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

Oftentimes, a book has more of a character-driven plot rather than action driven, and sometimes it is the other way around. Some books seem to balance the two. Discuss the following:

1. What do you think it means to say that a plot is character driven? Action driven?

2. How do you think a plot differs if it is character driven versus action driven?

3. Which type of plot do you find more interesting? Why?

4. Do you think it is possible to have a plot where action and character development share equal time? Why or why not.

5. What type of plot do you think "Jumping the Nail" is? Explain your response.

(see the answer keys)

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