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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 Bryson threaten to do to Bryson when he saw the amount of absences on his report cards?

2. What kind of tree grew in the backyard of Bryson's grandparents' farm?

3. Where did the Bryson family go in the new vehicle?

4. Where were the students supposed to go during the exercise in #107?

5. In what year did Bryson's father die?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was Bryson's elementary school and what were some of the features that made it so nice?

2. Describe the Audio Visual Club and why the boys were anxious to join.

3. Describe Riverview Amusement Park and why Bryson thought it was so awful.

4. Describe the events surrounding Bryson's finally getting into the strippers' tent at the state fair.

5. For what was Bryson most notorious in high school and what did he do after graduation?

6. What was Bryson's opinion of staying in Des Moines versus moving to a bigger city?

7. What were the weather extremes in Winfield?

8. What did the adult Bryson recall about what happened to his parents and friends?

9. What were some of the unpleasant issues Americans faced in 1957 even though the Gallup organization claimed it was a very happy year?

10. What were the circumstances when, for the second time, Bryson realized that adults could not be trusted?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Bryson's writing style. How is he different from other writers of his time? What are some of his characteristic writing techniques? Identify some examples of his classic style in 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

Explain the significance of the book's title--THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE THUNDERBOLT KID. Why did Bryson choose this title? Is there an understood message in the title? Is there another title you can suggest that might also be appropriate?

(see the answer keys)

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