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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 are The Rules in Chapter One?

2. Why does Will decide not to flirt with the girl in the elevator in Chapter Three?

3. Why does Will tell the girl in the elevator in Chapter Three that she should not be asking him about the gun?

4. What does Dani ask Will about his plan in Chapter Three?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the metaphor Will describes in Chapter Three about God displaying his children?

2. In Chapter Two, how is the man who gets onto the elevator with Will described? How does Will find out he is Buck?

3. Who was Buck to Shawn as described in Chapter Two? What does Buck give Shawn and teach him?

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

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 describe as a “strange thing” in the beginning of Chapter Two? What does he call this?

7. Who gets on the elevator in Chapter Three? How do Will and the new person first interact?

8. What happens on the day of the picture that Dani shows to Will in Chapter Three?

9. What is Will’s plan with Shawn’s gun in Chapter One?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

Essay Topic 2

In Chapter One, Will takes Shawn’s gun and alludes to a little brother holding his big brother’s hands, in a sense, walking in his footsteps. In Chapter Five, Mikey Holloman tells his story of going to shoot his older brother’s killer in words and actions similar to Will’s choosing to avenge Shawn. In place of actual relationships with male role models, how are young boys shown following after their role models paths? Find at least three textual examples to explore how the novel shows younger generations taking after older generations.

Essay Topic 3

When Frick explains why he shot Buck, he justifies this by saying he is just earning his stripes, and the men around him respond by nodding and saying there is no judgement (275). Why do they accept what he says? Why are they not mad? How is their acceptance a part of the community norms? How is their acceptance connected to The Rules? Connect this example to one other instance in the novel of acceptance of circumstances. Use this to develop a claim about why acceptance exists in this way for the community as shown by the novel.

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