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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. In Chapter One, where do we learn Will and his mother live?

2. What is happening to Buck’s cigarette in Chapter Three?

3. What happens when police ask questions after Shawn’s death in Chapter One?

4. What does the gun in the back of his waistband feel like to Will in Chapter One?

5. Why is Will surprised that the girl can see the smoke in the elevator in Chapter Three?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Will think of when a man gets on the elevator in Chapter Two and starts looking at Will when Will is not looking?

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

3. As told in Chapter Two, what does “L” mean to Shawn and Will? What is the game they used to play on the elevator?

4. 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”?

5. What does Will compare his mother’s eczema to in Chapter One? And how does he turn this into wordplay talking about the grudges in the neighborhood?

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

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

8. Why does Will look to Buck for help in Chapter Three? What does Buck do?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose and watch one of the following films, either “Moonlight” or “Boyz in the Hood.” Then compare the film of your choice to Long Way Down. What does each text represent about ts environment? What does it show about masculinity? How is masculinity shaped by or influenced by the environment? How are the works similar or different? Use at least two examples from each source in comparing.

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast how Pop feels and acts after shooting Ghee to how Will feels and acts after Dani dies. What similarities exist between the two scenes? What is the novel saying about death by having these similarities? What themes is the novel trying to evoke with these two passages? Write a claim about the purpose of comparing the theme, and draw on at least two other sections in the novel to support your claim.

Essay Topic 3

Think about the ending of the “The Scene” in Chapter Four where Will says he shoots after some reluctance. Consider how many generations are represented repeating a similar pattern of revenge. Why does Will not want to shoot? Does Will have free will to choose to shoot or not shoot? Why or why not? Argue why or why he does not have free will and connect this to the ending of the novel. What does the ending suggest about free will?

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