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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 Will think the middle drawer of Shawn’s dresser looks like in Chapter One?

2. What does Will do when he realizes who is in the man in the elevator in Chapter Two?

3. What does Will explain to Dani in Chapter Three?

4. Where does Will put Shawn’s gun in Chapter One?

5. What does Will say one has to do to make it big in basketball in Chapter One?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Will think of when the girl in the elevator shows him the picture from her wallet in Chapter Three? Who is in the photo?

2. How does Shawn come to teach Will The Rules as explained in Chapter Three? What does Will feel after he is taught the Rules?

3. Why does Will tell Dani he needs the gun in Chapter Three? Why does Will explain The Rules to Dani?

4. What is Will’s emotional and mental state when he sees Shawn is dead? What sensory details or figurative details from the novel tell us how he is thinking?

5. After Will tells Buck what he is going to do, what does Buck tell Will about his plan to follow The Rules in Chapter Two? How does he compare Will to Shawn?

6. What does Will say he usually does when bad things happen? Why can he not do this on the day that Shawn dies? Why does he think the moon is “lucky”?

7. Who does Will think has killed Shawn in Chapter One? Why does Will think this?

8. How does Will describe the sadness of losing someone you love in Chapter One?

9. What is a Penny Drop? What does Will tell the reader about a Penny Drop in Chapter One?

10. What is the picture of at the beginning of Chapter One? What does this image illustrate for the reader?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the character of Will Holloman to Mikey Holloman. How are these characters similar or different to one another? How are their actions related? How are their words related to one another? Why does the novel set these two characters up as foils of one another? What does their mirroring suggest about the novel's structure, and eventual ending? Write a response with at least four textual examples.

Essay Topic 2

Look at Will’s Random Thought No. 4 in Chapter Five, where he thinks about kids at playgrounds standing on their father’s feet and trusting him to guide them (22). How is this metaphor connected to ideas of fatherhood in the novel? What is the representation and role of fatherhood as said in Long Way Down? How is this representation specifically shaped by the community? Write an argumentative response for what you think the definition of fatherhood in the novel is and connect it to at least three textual examples.

Essay Topic 3

In Chapter Four of the novel, film techniques are used to illustrate the center of the story. In early lessons, the novel’s connection to rap music was discussed. What is the effect of having the novel contain so many genre forms? Why are so many different kinds of media referenced and contained in the novel? How does this enhance the story of the novel? Pull from at least four textual examples to support your exploratory claim.

(see the answer keys)

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