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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. What is Dannie's background?

2. What does Ray have to do to come up with the money to buy into The Bet?

3. How did Travis die?

4. What was The Mayflower Club like?

5. What does Ray notice about Concorde?

Short Essay Questions

1. Which character is the most obsessed with looking at The Mayflower Club and why?

2. Describe the terms of The Bet and list the people involved.

3. Describe Ponkaquogue (Ponky), giving details of the interior and exterior.

4. What happens in Chapter 14 when Two Down attempts to play as Bingsley Colchester?

5. Briefly describe Two Down's second plan to win The Bet, described in Chapter 13.

6. Among the Chops, who is more of a leader at Ponky in the first two chapters, Ray or Two Down? Why?

7. What effect does The Bet have on the atmosphere at Ponky?

8. What happens with the flirting between Ray and Madeline in Chapter 13?

9. Why is Thud, an ex-con, chosen to hold the money for The bet?

10. Describe the two tragic events that took Ray away from professional golf.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Make the connection between the setting and what we learn about the characters in the novel. Choose three overall adjectives to describe the setting at Ponky. Compare those adjectives to the characters and their actions. Do the characters have anything in common with the setting? If so, what do they have in common? List examples as evidence. If not, how are the characters different from the setting in which their actions take place? Address the same questions, using three adjectives to describe The Mayflower Club.

Essay Topic 2

The author uses dialogue throughout the text to develop each character. What is revealed specifically through dialogue about the following characters: Ray, Two Down, Ray's father, and Dannie.

Essay Topic 3

What narration in the latter part of the novel indicates that Ray has reached a new level of introspection and is going beyond simple storytelling? What analysis does Ray do in this chapter of himself? Of his father? How does his introspection affect the plot and Ray's decision to end the match in a tie?

(see the answer keys)

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