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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. In Chapter 12, McCall looks at what movie/show and how it affects young black men?

2. In Chapter 16, McCall and his son's mother run a scam that besides them affects other peoples what?

3. In Part I of the book, McCall recalls a moment when this person grabbed one of his brothers and told them to "stop acting like a nigger." Who is this person?

4. In what year does McCall briefly attend a white junior high school for purposes of integration?

5. What is the name of the boy shot in McCall's front yard?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. When several of McCall's friends decide to drop out of school, why does McCall stay in school?

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

5. How does McCall respond after going to a party in a hostile neighborhood unarmed with his friends and losing one of their own after fleeing shots from rival group?

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

7. Why does McCall feel he should have acted differently when he refuses work while on a prison type plantation in Chapter 19?

8. What does the Cadillac symbolize for McCall's stepfather in Chapter 10 and how does it affect McCall?

9. What scam do Elisabeth and McCall run in Chapter 15?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

In Part I of the book there are several instances that support the theme of juvenile invincibility that is felt by a young McCall and and his friends. Discuss this theme and provide details from Part I that illustrate this feeling of invincibility among McCall and other young boys described by McCall during this part of his life. What were the more effective glimpses into this mentality provided by McCall in this part of the book and why?

Essay Topic 3

McCall runs away from home and returns in Part I of the book. Why does McCall run away, why does he return, and why does McCall refer to the whipping he gets from his stepfather upon his return home saving "face?"

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