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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 the credits in Chapter 1, James King is credited as what?

2. Which two items are taken away from prisoners, according to Steve?

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

4. Why is Steve having stomach problems on Wednesday, July 8?

5. How old is Steve's brother?

Short Essay Questions

1. In his journal notes for Tuesday, July 7, why does Steve say he needs to keep thinking of the movie?

2. How does Detective Karyl describe the crime scene at the pharmacy?

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

4. What are the reasons, according to O'Brien, that Steve should take this trial "very, very seriously"?

5. What does Steve say happens if anyone knows you are crying in prison?

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

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

8. What does Wendell Bolden look and act like?

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

10. Why does the first shot of the movie (Monday, July 6) feature Steve lying with the blanket over his head?

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

The narrative style of this novel is rather unique. Write an analytical essay that describes and analyzes the particular method Walter Dean Myers uses in Steve's journal entries to establish and communicate this point-of-view. In addition, what are the narrative benefits of such a point-of-view? How do these journal entries most effectively tell those parts of the story?

Essay Topic 3

What does this novel communicate to the reader about personal responsibility and guilt? Write an analysis describing and investigating what Myers thinks about these two issues. Be sure to offer working definitions of each, personal responsibility as well as guilt, and determine, through specific and explicit textual analysis, the ways in which these two issues are similar to each other and/or differ from each other.

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