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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. How does Johnny react to Owen's date for the dance?

2. Why did Tabitha claim she could not return the item she purchased back to Jerrolds?

3. What does Mrs. Wheelwright (Johnny's grandmother) decide to purchase after the two major deaths of the year?

4. Which character carries the screaming Owen off stage?

5. What behavior of Hester's becomes a worry for her cousin, Johnny.

Short Essay Questions

1. How do the boys start their trip to Boston?

2. What happens to the boys' grades once they get to the University?

3. What is the reaction to Mrs. Wheelwright's new television?

4. What significant events happen when Randall White is elected headmaster?

5. Who is Katherine Keeling?

6. What happens when Owen, as The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, takes Scrooge to his grave?

7. What does the letter that Johnny receives from the draft board say?

8. What happens when Johnny goes to meet Owen at the monument shop?

9. What happens with Owen's collegiate schooling after he is kicked out of Gravesend Academy?

10. What does Owen hope to do upon graduation from the University, and why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Owen is surely the most confident character in the book, a characteristic that might not have been expected by the reader. In an essay, explain the symbolism of the armadillo throughout the story. Where and when does it appear? Does it's symbolism every change? Consider what the armadillo means to both Johnny and Owen as individuals. What do they use it for?

Essay Topic 2

Hester Eastman plays the role of an important romantic interest for both Johnny and Owen. In an essay, compare/contrast young Hester Eastman with the adolescent Hester Eastman. What characteristics did the boys find attractive about her at both ages? How would you describe the relationships that Johnny and Owen had with Hester? How were they the same? How were they different? Which relationship seemed to make more sense? Even though there were deeply unhealthy behaviors in both, which relationship could you have seen lasting longer? Why?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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