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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. When Jamel gets out of prison in Chapter 34, he is 24 years old. How old was he when he went in?

2. In Chapter 33, who has cream of turkey soup at a diner?

3. Who is the new parole officer that upsets Jamel so much in Chapter 36?

4. Who says, "You were one step from the dungeon?"

5. Where is Jamel when he tattoos three overlapping hearts on his chest with his name, Cassandra's, and his son's?

Short Essay Questions

1. What type of programs does Jamel participate in as required by his parole officer?

2. Explain "cuff therapy."

3. When Jamel ends up in the hospital with a hurt leg and neck, how does he explain it to his mother?

4. How is Jamel spending most of his days in Chapter 39?

5. What does Elaine do to prepare for her Thanksgiving celebration?

6. What changes does Jamel see on Avenue D in Chapter 34?

7. Describe Nate.

8. Why does Elaine go to the anti-drug law rallies once she is out of prison?

9. Describe the living room of Apartment 13B from Chapter 40.

10. Why is Apartment 13B more crowded than usual on April 3, 2001?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Elaine and Nathan make the decision to marry before being sentenced. Yvonne makes her strenuous objections known. Both Elaine and Nathan know for a fact that they're going to prison. So why do they decide to marry? Do they think marriage will have an effect on their sentencing?

Essay Topic 2

How does the author deal with the setting of "Life on the Outside?" Does it have an effect on the tone of the book? Do you have a good sense of the prisons, the housing projects, and the locations throughout New York?

Essay Topic 3

Of Yvonne Bartlett's seven children, five served time in jail or prison. The two who didn't died as young adults. Was Yvonne a good mother? Was she good at her role? Did her own arrest have any effect on the outcomes of her children? Who or what is to blame for the outcome of the majority of the Bartlett children? Parenting? Society?

(see the answer keys)

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