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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. At St. Brides, McCall is near his home and can have more what?

2. In Chapter 3, the reader discovers that McCall was jealous of his grandmother's affections while she worked as what for a Jewish family?

3. In Chapter 18, McCall is able to discover literature relevant to his life and pass the time, when he is in what place?

4. In Chapter 9, McCall and his friends' ongoing feud with one group is interrupted by a new threat from where?

5. What does McCall reveal to enjoy about school besides the reason he gives his friends for staying in school?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does McCall refer to the fighting of whites and among groups and gangs, in Chapter 7 as "dress rehearsal?"

2. McCall's relationship with Elisabeth Miller keeps him off the streets but raises a different issue. Explain.

3. In the opening chapter when McCall, along with others, is beating the young white boy, what is going on in McCall's head?

4. In Part I, why does McCall envy the dirty white children running around in a restaurant?

5. In Chapter 22, why is McCall hurt by his friends' actions while he is in prison?

6. While driving around after graduation and not finding place to meet up with friends, what does McCall mean when he cites this driving around as an analogy of his life at this point?

7. According to McCall in Chapter 6, why does he expect that his mother should have talked to her boys about sex?

8. In Part I, McCall describes the power he gets from having a gun. How does this affect him?

9. How does McCall's advancing knowledge from Jim in Chapter 22 affect McCall's perception of blacks and education?

10. In Chapter 5, how is McCall affected after being caught shoplifting?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Part I of the book, McCall describes his decision to steal as a rite of passage. What is a rite of passage, and how does McCall's decision to take from others constitute such a reference?

Essay Topic 2

In Chapter 34, McCall talks about the pressure not to marry Debbie and his idea that the marriage will legitimize things. Explain circumstances. Discuss how the the pressure to not marry and McCall's perception of "legitimization" compare to McCall's decisions in earlier years on the streets and in the prison.

Essay Topic 3

How does Stanley's visit and the resulting scenes and events in McCall's life facilitate McCall's decision to leave behind drug use from this point forward? How does this turning point reflect other changes that occurred in McCall's life during this time as well (family, career)?

(see the answer keys)

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