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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 is the name of the home to which Joel is moving in Chapter 1?

2. Who does Amy tell Joel was born in the room he is now staying in at the Landing?

3. What does the eccentric hermit tell Joel in Chapter 5 that he wants to make for him?

4. What causes the religious service to be interrupted in Chapter 3?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. How has Randolph been trying to get in touch with Pepe Alvarez through the mail?

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

3. How does Joel react after his haircut from Zoo is finished?

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

5. Why doesn't Joel want to go home and change clothes before going fishing with Idabel in Chapter 7?

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

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

8. How is Joel's first encounter with Zoo described?

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

10. What does Joel believe led to his mother's death?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The notion of religion appears to play a vital role in Joel's life at the Landing.

Part 1.) What role does religious traditions seem to play in the lives of characters like Zoo and Jesus Fever based on their services performed on Sundays?

Part 2.) What is telling of Joel's nature based on his reactions to religious traditions at the Landing?

Part 3.) What might the author be saying about religion based on his portrayal of the religious acts seen at the Landing?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the author's portrayal of love through the book's characters. What means does Joel resort to when seeking love in the book, and what role might this have on his strange bond developed with Randolph?

Essay Topic 3

Examine the symbolism of birds in the book. In what way might the bird trapped in Joel's room represent his own plight at the Landing and his inability to find love and comfort?

(see the answer keys)

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