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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 color is the tennis ball that rolls into the room in Chapter 4?

2. What can Joel not find in his room when he finally awakes on his first day at his father's house?

3. To where does Jesus Fever's granddaughter tell Joel she plans to move after her grandfather dies?

4. What is the name of the man Jesus Fever's granddaughter married?

5. What does Randolph drink at dinner in Chapter 4?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Joel realize regarding the mysterious woman in the Landing window at the end of the book?

2. How does Randolph comfort Joel at the beginning of Chapter 12?

3. How is Joel's new room at Skully's Landing described?

4. How is Miss Wisteria described when Joel and Idabel first meet her?

5. How does Randolph injure Ed Samson?

6. How is Jesus Fever described the first time Joel sees him?

7. How does Idabel describe her colored glasses to Joel?

8. What happens when Joel and Idabel fall into Drowning Pond?

9. Why does Little Sunshine wish for Joel to come to his home?

10. What does Joel do during his breaks from being painted in Chapter 8?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

A common theme represented in many of the characters in the book is a sense of isolation.

Part 1.) How have the residents of Skully's Landing purposefully isolated themselves from outsiders, and what motivations do they have for doing this? Part 2.) How has Joel created a sense of comfort within his isolation, and what is telling of his character based on this action?

Part 3.) What might the author be saying about the nature of the book's main characters based on their willing participation in their own isolation?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the author's portrayal of family in the book. What about the author's tendency to paint a flawed portrait of family in the book suggest about his own feelings towards the nature of familial bonds?

Essay Topic 3

The notion of superstition is one that is frequently brought up in the book and plays a role in Joel's life at the Landing.

Part 1.) What can the reader learn about the importance of superstition in the local culture based on characters like Little Sunshine?

Part 2.) What symbolism can be found in the representation of superstitious practices and charms in the book?

Part 3.) How is the presence of superstition significant to Joel's journey from normalcy to bizarre in the book?

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