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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 are Frank and Jake forced to squeeze in next to Karl when he takes them for a ride in his Triumph sports car?

2. To whom does Jake think Frank should apologize and why?

3. What prompts Gus and Morris to be thrown in jail?

4. Why are Frank and Jake not technically allowed by their parents to swim at the old quarry?

5. What prompts Ruth to bring food to the Klements' house?

Short Essay Questions

1. During Gus' and Frank's conversation about Nathan's experiences in the war, what two sources of information does Gus warn Frank against heeding?

2. What is ironic about Lise's reaction to Frank's grabbing of her shoulder when they succeed in moving the huge rock in her garden?

3. Where do Frank and Jake go just before Bobby Cole's funeral, and how does Jake's suit sleeve get ripped?

4. How does Officer Doyle's search of Warren Redstone's lean-to sway the reader's opinion of Warren Redstone's character?

5. How does Frank convince his dad to give him the tire iron for the boys' walk home from the jail and what do they subsequently do with it?

6. What is revealed about the difference between Frank's and Jake's characters in the moment when they are invited by Gus and Officer Doyle to set off fireworks?

7. What happens within the conversation Frank overhears between Nathan and Emil after Emil's return from the private hospital?

8. What are the purposes of the Drum family's visit to Emil and Lise Brandt's house?

9. How does Gus' monologue about killing a man relate to the novel's title?

10. How does the scene at the old rock quarry reveal themes of adolescent sexuality through Frank's character?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Often within literature, characters with disabilities are presented as being wholly innocent, good, and infallible. Krueger does not fall prey to these generalities, instead depicting flaws and problems in the lives of both the abled and the disabled. Choose two different characters with disabilities, analyzing the characterization methods Krueger uses to present them and stating his purposes in doing so.

Essay Topic 2

Many of the novel's characters undergo experiences that radically transform their lives, taking them far away from the expectations they have previously held. Analyze at least three characters' transformative experiences, the effects these events have on their lives, their methods for dealing with these changes, and ultimately, the author's purpose for including these types of disparities between expectation and reality.

Essay Topic 3

A small-town Midwest town is an unexpected setting for a mystery novel. How does the setting influence and affect the mood, events, and milieu of the novel's narrative?

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