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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 11, McCall describes how he begins hustling people and then what?

2. McCall's stepfather takes in a child from his previous marriage who is older than McCall; what is this child's name?

3. In Chapter 4, "pimping" is a kind of what?

4. In the neighborhood junior high school, McCall learns about putting down others as a competitive conversation called what?

5. After July 19, 1973, McCall is soon accepted into how many colleges?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

9. What does McCall realize about his life after Moses Battle teaches him how to play chess in Chapter 17?

10. From Chapter 23, how does McCall's behavior indicate his new found realization that he needs to take actions for the long term?

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 12 explain the messages in the movies "Superfly" and "The Mack" and how these messages affect McCall and his friends. What does McCall note about the movies that he just lets go right by him?

Essay Topic 3

How are the people in McCall's life, outside of the prison, affected by his incarceration? (His son, Elisabeth, his parents, siblings, grandmother, etc.)

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