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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. Whom of the following painted Penny's room in anticipation of her return home from the hospital?

2. Which of the following two questions is Penny being asked covertly every time that she is visited at the hospital by a friend or relative, and asked how she is feeling?

3. Which of the following newspaper sections becomes a favorite for Penny and the person reading the newspaper to her?

4. What is the ailment that appears to be claiming the life of the young girl dying in Penny's ward?

5. What color have the walls in Penny's room been painted to prior to her return home from the hospital?

Short Essay Questions

1. Based on the narrative in Chapter 14 of the book, why has Frankie decided to run to Penny's house and hide there?

2. According to the text in Chapter 17 of the book, what contributes to Penny's disappointment while she is in the hospital?

3. According to the narrative in Chapter 17 of the book, how do Penny's relatives make her feel special while she is in the hospital?

4. According to the narrative in Chapter 20 of the book, do any new beings enter Penny's life after she returns home from the hospital?

5. According to the narrative in Chapter 16 of the book, how does Penny react in relation to her arm injury?

6. According to the text in Chapter 17 of the book, what happens in relation to those who visit Penny as she continues her stay in the hospital?

7. Based on the narrative in Chapter 20 of the book, how does Penny's job at Uncle Ralphie's meat market change when she returns to work following her stay in the hospital?

8. According to the text in the twelfth chapter of the book, how does Uncle Dominic resolve the situations that Uncle Benny gets into as family members are attempting to make their way to and from Aunt Concetta's wake?

9. According to the narrative in the thirteenth chapter of the book, what types of items is Penny gifted with on her birthday that may help enhance her appearance?

10. Based on the text in Chapter 20 of the book, how has Penny's bedroom been changed when she returns home following her stay in the hospital?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the beginning of the story, Eleanor, Penny's mother, states that if Frankie is going to work alongside Penny, then she will feel comfortable allowing Penny to work. In making that statement, Eleanor implies that Frankie is an individual that would help assure that Penny would not get into any trouble, as long as Frankie is around her as she performs her job. For that reason perhaps, Eleanor did not show any resistance toward Penny spending time with Frankie. When Frankie goes to court toward the end of the book, it should not be overlooked that he was scared to go there because the judge had previously told him that he did not want to see him back in court again. Was Eleanor not aware of Frankie's court-related past when she based her decision to allow Penny to work on whether Frankie would be working alongside her? Looking back at the the misadventures that Frankie and Penny get into throughout the story however, was Eleanor's assumption of Frankie's character type and influence correct or incorrect? Why or why not? Cite story text and/or paraphrase scenarios from the book in support of your position.

Essay Topic 2

During Penny's stay in the hospital, Mr. Mulligan visits her, and the two begin a daily meeting of the minds in relation to the news of the day, which Mr. Mulligan shares with Penny via the newspaper. That series of events presents Penny with a pleasant personality traits of Mr. Mulligan that she was not familiar with, and that she learns to appreciate. Looking back at some of the things that Penny did to dissuade Mr. Mulligan from remaining romantically involved with her mother, such as being cross with him and lying to him about her mother having hit her, can Penny's new outlook toward him be based more on her desire for reconciliation, or on her finally accepting that a new man in both her life and that of her mother's may be inevitable and imminent? Cite text and/or paraphrase scenarios from the book to support your position.

Essay Topic 3

Looking at Penny's life throughout the book, and how relatives from both sides of her family - that of her father, and that of her mother - play important roles in her life, can it be said that a village and not a pair of conventional parents helped raise Penny? Cite text and/or paraphrase scenarios from the book to support your position.

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