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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. According to McCall in Chapter 9, after a boy is killed, who arrives in town with plans for war?

2. In 1964, McCall and his family move into a new housing development called what?

3. After McCall and his friends beat the young man in Chapter 1, what does McCall admit he feared for a moment?

4. From where is McCall released in February 1978?

5. The young boy attacked in Chapter 1 is riding what when he is attacked?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does McCall relate what happens with the manual prison labor in Chapter 19 with his stepfather's teachings?

2. In Chapter ,4 McCall is now in a black junior high school, but he is still the new kid; what are some things he does to help him fit in?

3. Why does McCall dislike his stepfather's behavior with white people?

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

5. How does McCall and Elisabeth's scam affect them and the neighborhood?

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

7. McCall describes his experience with a "train" being run on someone he cares about. How does McCall feel about this and what leads up to this event?

8. In Chapter 19, how and why do McCall's inmates decorate their cells?

9. In Part I of the book, why does McCall think a junior high school was built near the black housing development?

10. Why do McCall and his stepfather clash about work in Chapter 10?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does the clash between McCall and his stepfather about work and keeping a job in Part I of the book, reflect each of their views on dealing with white people? (First explain both points of view.)

Essay Topic 2

In Part III of the book, McCall describes his relationship with Yvette, her challenges with being inferior and the Muslim principle that women hold an inferior position in the home. Looking at McCall's upbringing, his relationship with his mother and his mother's role in McCall's home, how do the two outlooks, situations, etc. clash? Why does McCall have problems with this Muslim principle and how much of this is due to his upbringing and his mother's role in the home?

Essay Topic 3

In Part II of the book, how does McCall's incarceration and the people he meets while incarcerated affect his thinking and perceptions? Use specific examples and explain why chose those examples.

(see the answer keys)

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