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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 Hopi do with Diane while Tom watches them?

2. What kind of feeling does Dru have when she and Mike are walking?

3. What is Elisa doing because of shock?

4. Where is Dru's oldest sister?

5. What does Tom say when the music stops?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What does Claire ask Dru about Diane?

3. What does Tom announce when the music stops and what does Diane do after the announcement?

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

5. What does Dru remember about the first night Mike noticed her?

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

7. Who do Mike and Dru see on the beach, what does Mike do about it, and how does Dru connect her and Elisa?

8. What happens when Dru's family first arrives at Mike's house, how is the dinner and why does Janie irritate Dru?

9. What does Dru say to Elisa about Scooter and what does she realize about Diane when she says it?

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

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

Jumping the Nail falls in the genre called youth. Discuss the following:

1. What is the definition of genre? Youth genre? How do you know "Jumping the Nail" falls in the genre of youth novel? Give examples.

2. Other than entertainment, why do you think people might read youth novel?

3. Fantasy is sometimes considered second-rate fiction--i.e. that it is not good enough to be studied in academe. Why do you think this is true? Do you think it is a valid argument?

Essay Topic 3

The seaweed crown represents how Elisa saw herself. She was a mere object of Scooter's, of no worth or value to herself or the world. The crown is made of seaweed, a smelly and filthy plant of the ocean. Elisa saw herself as a representation of the seaweed, a pitiful girl who did not deserve anything better. As the crown floats on the water, it is a reminder to all the teenagers that succumbing to insecurity will kill you, either emotionally or literally.

1. Discuss three incidences in which people have seen others only as objects and not people, for example, soldiers looking at the enemy. Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

2. What do you think another teenager can do when she or he has a friend who feels worthless? Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

3. Elisa felt she did not deserve anything worthwhile. Scooter seemed to treat her like this often. do you think people who feel they are not worth much are treated that way by others because they feel that way about themselves? Why or why not? Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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