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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. Where did the Brysons visit during their trip to the state in #59?

2. What was the main street of Bryson's hometown?

3. What became the joy of every family in the 1950s?

4. What publication did most boys need to rely on to seem partially clothed girls?

5. In what unusual place did Bryson's father practice his exercise?

Short Essay Questions

1. What form of exercise did Bryson's father like to practice and what was an unusual location for his exercise routine?

2. Who was the one girl that all the neighborhood boys wanted to see naked and how did Bryson miss out on this momentous occasion?

3. What importance did comic books have in the lives of Bryson and most other kids in the 1950s?

4. What businesses came about as the result of more cars in America?

5. How did Bryson describe Des Moines and the area of the city where he lived?

6. Describe the albino Lincoln Logs experience.

7. What were the results on children of the U.S. bomb testings and what happened when the tests were moved underground?

8. What was Bryson's mother's main personality quirk?

9. What were some of the ways that boys could see glimpses of naked women?

10. Where did Bryson's father work and what were some of the perks of the job?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the format of the book. How does Bryson distinguish between current activity and flashbacks to his past? What is the difference is style and tone? Are the differentiations separated visually in any way? How did this improve your reading of this book?

Essay Topic 2

Describe the overall settings for the book. What is important about each setting as it is revealed? What are the time periods of the stories? How important are the time periods to the attitudes and issues of the people?

Essay Topic 3

There are several events of foreshadowing in the stories. Define foreshadowing. Cite at least two situations in the stories that serve as foreshadowing.

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