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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. How many gunshots does Joel hear at the end of Chapter 5?

2. What is the name of Idabel's dog?

3. Who throws the religious service in Chapter 3?

4. Who does Joel write a letter to at the beginning of Chapter 5?

5. What does Randolph and Amy seem incapable of providing to Joel after the tennis ball enters the room?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the nature of Joel and Idabel's interaction at the beginning of Chapter 7?

2. How do Randolph and Amy react to Joel's questions regarding a strange woman he saw in Chapter 4?

3. What is Joel's reaction to his first prayer service?

4. What does Amy tell Joel regarding the history of his bedroom?

5. What happens to John Brown when Joel and Randolph take him to Little Sunshine's house?

6. What does Joel see a woman doing in his room when he awakes at the beginning of Chapter 2?

7. Why does Joel say he chooses to enter his own imaginary place in his head?

8. What happened to Zoo during her marriage to a man named Keg?

9. What does Zoo do after Jesus Fever dies?

10. What is the nature of Joel's first conversation with Florabel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the nature of Skully's Landing in the book. In what way does the author portray Skully's Landing to be a bizarre and desolate place and based on this portrayal, what might he be saying about the nature of those living there?

Essay Topic 2

The subject of homosexuality is present throughout much of the book and offers an important insight into the nature of the book's characters.

Part 1.) What can the reader learn about the nature of the local's acceptance of homosexuality based on Idabel's need to escape the town and be her true self?

Part 2.) In what way might the author's portrayal of Joel represent the journey of first discovering homosexuality?

Part 3.) How might Randolph be seen as the most open and understanding of homosexuality in the book?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the possible symbolism for Idabel's colored glasses in the book. In what way might Idabel's offering Joel her colored glasses be symbolic of her trying to shelter him from the harshness of life when you are an outsider?

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