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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. One day the boys are playing in a dump area. What does Paddy step on?

2. Who do the boys try to hurt by making a voodoo doll?

3. Why does Paddy feel like their da won the first fight Paddy ever listened to his parents have?

4. What word does Paddy repeat to himself over and over when his parents are fighting?

5. What animals does Paddy think that the Americans are fighting in Vietnam?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Paddy react to Sinbad's reaction to the food offering?

2. How does Paddy keep himself awake throughout the night?

3. How does Paddy learn to ride his bike?

4. What steps does Paddy take to prevent his parents' fighting?

5. What crime does Sinbad commit without Paddy and what happens after Sinbad commits the crime?

6. How do Paddy and his friends react when one of their friends gets stuck in a trench and begins to sink?

7. Describe what happens when Paddy and Kevin try to look at Ian's dog's docked tail.

8. Why doesn't Paddy want to visit the zoo again?

9. One day Paddy wakes up to find the kitchen is still a mess. How does Paddy react to the situation?

10. Using details from the text, describe what happens to Paddy when he falls asleep in school after staying up all night.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe Paddy's relationship with his ma. Do they have a good relationship? Why/Why not? Why does Paddy feel that his ma is the best ma in the neighborhood?

Essay Topic 2

How are the elements of conflict presented in the novel? Is Paddy the only character that has a conflict or are there others? Use details from the class discussion and the text to support your answers.

Essay Topic 3

10-year-old Paddy has amazing insights regarding his parents' various behaviors and mannerisms. Using details from the text, describe some of the behaviorisms that Paddy noted about his ma and da. Are there any other characters that Paddy picked up the mannerisms of?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,012 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample