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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. Why does Acie say he stole the money?

2. In the credits in Chapter 1, Sandra Petrocelli is credited as what?

3. What do the guards do after the prisoner starts a fight when the preacher visits?

4. When we first see Steve in the screenplay description in the first chapter, what is lying on his cot next to him?

5. What does B&E mean, in the context of this book's courtroom scenes?

Short Essay Questions

1. What kind of knife does one prisoner have? Describe it.

2. What does Steve say about why he thinks Petrocelli is using Bolden's testimony?

3. When Steve decides to write a movie, what does he say it will be a story of?

4. Describe the kind of movie Steve says it feels as if he has stepped into?

5. What does Wendell Bolden look and act like?

6. In the prologue, Steve says "they say you get used to being in jail." What is Steve's take on this passage?

7. What does Mr. Nesbitt look like in the pictures the prosecution passes around to the jury?

8. Why do the charges against Wendell Bolden get dropped?

9. When Steve gets dressed for court on Thursday, July 9 and thinks of his mother, what is she doing?

10. Why does Johnny, the ringleader of the eventual crime, want to rob a pharmacy instead of a bank?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

This story relies not only on journal entries, but also on scenes from a screenplay to establish plot, setting, characterization, action, and other fictional elements. Write an analytical essay explaining how Walter Dean Myers establishes Steve's point-of-view in these screenplay scenes. In addition, be sure to include detailed analyses of how this specific point-of-view effectively communicates fictional elements including, but not limited to plot, setting, or characterization.

Essay Topic 2

Some critics might read this novel as a coming of age story, in which Steve's maturation from young man or boy to mature man is one of the themes. In an analytical essay, describe the process of Steve's maturation and development, using specific examples from the book.

Essay Topic 3

Write a detailed essay explaining the long-term effects Steve's experience in prison will have on him, based on the end of the the novel. Be sure to include not only how Steve has changed--and how these changes will affect him--but also how his experience has changed his relationships with his family or friends. You must include examples from at least two of his relationships with other people.

(see the answer keys)

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