View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is the narrator of the novel?

2. When the Brinker-Smiths enter the room that Owen and Johnny are investigating, where does Owen hide?

3. What happened to Owen after the murder?

4. Who does Owen attempt to convince to keep his role in Dan Needham's play?

5. Whose ancestor founded the town in which the novel takes place?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Johnny Wheelwright's mother die?

2. How does Owen typically play baseball?

3. Why does Owen react so strongly to Johnny's opinion of his mother's death?

4. What does Owen mean when he tells Dan Needham that his play is lacking a "certain presence"?

5. What does Johnny see when he travels to Tabitha's grave for the first time?

6. Describe Johnny's cousins.

7. Briefly explain this quote: "God has taken your mother. My hands were the instrument. God has taken my hands. I am God's instrument."

8. What was the conflict that Dan and Tabitha encountered when they were planning their wedding ceremony?

9. How do the Meanys find out about Owen's Christmas responsibilities, and what is their response?

10. What does Owen gift to Tabitha and Dan as a wedding gift?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Owen Meany's faith that he is an instrument of God makes up a large part of his character. Choose two characters in the novel and compare/contrast their views on whether or not Owen was an instrument of God. How does Owen's history and beliefs affect their views of him?

Essay Topic 2

Throughout the novel, John Irving chooses to present the reader with both the childhood version and the adult version of Johnny. Compare/contrast the presented characteristics of both the child and adult versions of Johnny. What events in the novel may have contributed to the man that Johnny Wheelwright grows to become. What evidence do you see to back up this theory? What reasons do you think John Irving has for interrupting the childhood stories of Johnny with the moments of Johnny as an adult. What messages is he trying to send? What is added to the story by seeing Johnny as an adult?

Essay Topic 3

While exploring the dorm rooms at Gravesend, the boys are initiated into the worlds of puberty and sexuality. Compare and contrast the boys' expectations of puberty with what they actually experience. Why might John Irving have included sexuality as a major theme within his novel?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 726 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample