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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. On July 17, what kind of decision does Petrocelli say Steve has made?

2. When Bobo comes into the courtroom to testify and the lawyers are discussing him with the judge, what does the judge say he looks like?

3. What is the verdict in Sunset's trial?

4. What kind of sports game is on TV Sunday, July 12th, which Steve said does not "look real"?

5. How does Steve describe the look on his mother's face during the judge's instructions to the jury Friday Afternoon, July 17?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do the prisoners eat for breakfast on Sunday, July 12?

2. Describe the type of music Steve writes in his journal on July 17th that he is going to put on the soundtrack of his film.

3. What does Steve realize about why there are so many fights in prison after church on Sunday, July 12?

4. When Briggs questions Henry about identifying King, what does she admit about the photographs the police showed her?

5. What does O'Brien say about Petrocelli's bringing the crime scene photos out again just before the long weekend recess?

6. Once each lawyer has rested her case, Steve writes in his journal on Friday, July 17 that it's understandable why other prisoners are obsessed with appeals. What does he realize about their obsession?

7. What has O'Brien asked Steve to do when his response is to write down Mr. Sawicki's name twice?

8. How do Steve's parents act when they come to visit on Sunday the 12th?

9. What does O'Brien say she is going to do on the weekend of the 11th?

10. What happens when Steve is made to mop the floor?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Life in prison is a big adjustment for Steve, and has a major impact on the way he feels about himself. Describe the details of prison life that most affect Steve, including specific examples from the text. You should include information and analysis on how prison changes Steve and/or does not change him.

Essay Topic 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

While novels are written media, screenplays are the written version of a visual media, film. This book also contains several typographical elements as well as photographs and drawings to communicate visual information. Taking into account all of these formats, describe the fictional strategies Myers has employed to construct imagery and images in this book. How does he blend visual media with written media effectively?

(see the answer keys)

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