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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is NOT one of the water tanks the boy plans to pass along his planned route to a particular canyon?
(a) Willow Tank.
(b) Echo Tank.
(c) Big Tank.
(d) Still Tank.

2. The coyote in Elegies for Lost Children begins with how many children under his supervision on their way to the United States?
(a) 6.
(b) 4.
(c) 11.
(d) 7.

3. How does the rest of the family react when the boy throws an object off the cliff in hopes of breaking the tense silence at lunch on the day of the hike?
(a) They grab the boy.
(b) They smile.
(c) They scream.
(d) They walk away.

4. The woman claims that fear "in the daytime, under the sun" (157) belongs to whom?
(a) The lonely.
(b) Adults.
(c) The living.
(d) Children.

5. In what stage of life was the boy when his biological mother died?
(a) Prepubescence.
(b) Infancy.
(c) Early childhood.
(d) Adolescence.

Short Answer Questions

1. Along what sort of pathway do the boy and the girl walk as they gradually begin to realize that they are lost?

2. Which plant named within the catalog of plant species greatly intrigues the girl?

3. With what Roman numeral is the box marked that the boy retrieves from the trunk of the family car one night?

4. When the woman wants to know what the boy would do if he and the girl became lost, he answers that he would look for the man and the woman in what location?

5. Once the narrative perspective shifts away from the woman, to whom does the narrative voice transfer?

Short Essay Questions

1. What event causes the woman to question the boy about what he would do if he and the girl ever got lost while on their own?

2. How does the fictional author of Elegies for Lost Children demonstrate the way in which the "man in charge" (164) despises being asked questions?

3. What major change in narration takes place at the start of the part called Reenactment?

4. What question does the boy nervously ask the woman during a discussion about the novel Lord of the Flies?

5. What bright spot does the boy say will remain in the situation even if the man and woman never find the two of them?

6. What clues does the boy leave for the man and woman in regard to his and the girl's plans?

7. What is the woman's philosophy about answering the questions of the boy and girl?

8. What example does the boy give when he claims that the girl is "sometimes really smart" (196)?

9. Discuss how the boy's reunion with the girl comes about after their separation and include discussion of the boy's reaction to their reunion.

10. What does the reader learn by the end of Part I about the woman's own childhood?

(see the answer keys)

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