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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 did Will’s mom say killed Will’s dad?

2. What does the smoke in the elevator feel like to Will in Chapter Four?

3. What does Frick say when Dani asks him about Riggs in Chapter Six?

4. What had people said about Buck’s heritage as said in Chapter Six?

5. What does Will think of when he realizes that Uncle Mark is the guy on the elevator in Chapter Four?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Uncle Mark’s selling escalate as described in Chapter Four? How does his selling end and why?

2. Why does Frick try to rob Buck as told in Chapter Six? Why do other people not try to rob Buck?

3. How does Will’s dad feel after he shoots the guy in Chapter Five? Who does Will’s dad find out he actually shoots?

4. What did Will’s mom tell Will about why his dad had died as told in Chapter Five? What had Will thought about this as a kid?

5. Who gets on the elevator in Chapter Five? What do the new person and Will do? How does Will feel?

6. Who finishes the scene for Will in Chapter Four? What does Will feel when he echoes the ending?

7. How does Will feel realizing his father shot the wrong guy as told in Chapter Five? How had he imagined his father?

8. Who gets on the elevator in Chapter Four? What does he do to Will?

9. What does Will’s dad do to Will after he tells Will his story? How does Will respond? How does their interaction end?

10. According to Chapter Six, why was Shawn upset as he tells to Buck? What does Buck do to comfort him?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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?

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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