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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. What position does Frankie feel that he will lose as a result of the misdeed that he has committed?

3. Which of the following represents a category that Penny uses to categorize the other kids in her ward?

4. What is Penny doing when Uncle Dominic finally stops by to see her following her stay at the hospital?

5. Who is ill when Penny awakens one morning not long after her birthday?

Short Essay Questions

1. According to the text in Chapter 13 of the book, what normal events take place in Penny's life on her birthday?

2. 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?

3. According to the narrative in Chapter 19, what contributes to Penny changing her attitude toward Mr. Mulligan change while she is in the hospital?

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

5. 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?

6. Based on the text in Chapter 14 of the book, how does Frankie's problem with the church ultimately get resolved?

7. 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?

8. 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?

9. 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?

10. Based on the narrative in the thirteenth chapter of the book, how is Penny's birthday observed by her father's side of the family?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the book, two members of Penny's mother's side of the family - namely her mother and her grandfather, Pop-pop, are depicted as conservative type individuals with little if any desire for anything outside the norm of day-to-day existence . As the story progresses however, it becomes evident that both have secret desires for things outside that norm, he for cigars, and she for spending time with Mr. Mulligan. They both resort to using others, such as Connie and Penny to go out and acquire enjoyment with their target desires. Do those actions of theirs convey their lack of honesty toward others or toward themselves? Why or why not? Cite text and/or paraphrase scenarios from the book to support your position.

Essay Topic 2

The time comes when Penny realizes that the friendship between her mother and Mr. Mulligan is a romantic type. Does that time in Penny's life signal a forced end to her childhood in terms of having to let go of her father? Or does it signal the beginning of Penny's transition into adulthood in terms of accepting a new man in her mother's life, and a new father in hers? Cite examples and/or paraphrase scenarios from the book in support of your position.

Essay Topic 3

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.

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