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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 happened when Shawn was 15 that make Tony and Will hopeful in Chapter One?

2. What does Will think about himself when he thinks that Buck is not taking him seriously in Chapter Two?

3. Where has the anagram that Will thinks about Dani in Chapter Three also been seen in the novel before?

4. How does Buck press Will’s chest in Chapter Two?

5. What does Buck do to diffuse the situation between Will and Dani in Chapter Three?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Will think of when Buck tells him his tail is showing in Chapter Two?

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

3. What does Will insist to the reader directly after he introduces himself in the beginning of Chapter One? Why does he say he does this?

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

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

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

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

8. 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?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the opening poems, Will insists that what happens is true (1-4). Think back to earlier discussions of your position as a reader. Why does Will want you to think the novel is true as he insists in the beginning? How does he reaffirm that these events are true throughout the novel? What is the relationship of the novel to its readers? Write an essay response pulling on textual examples for what the role of the reader is, how this can be observed through text choices, and why the reader is in this position to the text.

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

How are women represented in Long Way Down? What are the roles and representations given to them? Write a summary of what you see pulling from two examples in the novel. Then write a claim arguing why you think this representation is shown the way it is. How does this representation connect to the environment of the novel? Use three examples in your claim.

(see the answer keys)

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