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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 do Savannah and Tom feel about their father during their teenage years?

2. Why might Conroy have included the scene with Tolitha's coffin in Chapter Eight?

3. Where are Tom and Dr. Lowenstein at the start of Chapter Six?

4. Tom's story is set against the backdrop of which war?

5. Why does Tom begin writing letters to South Carolina?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Henry covert to Catholicism?

2. What kind of family does the Prologue portray?

3. How does Lila react to the news of Tom's actions against Todd?

4. How does Dr. Lowenstein perceive Lila in Chapter Six?

5. What does the story of Lila's quest to win the Colleton League cookbook contest reveal about her character?

6. How does Lila react to Henry's buying a tiger?

7. How does the death of Rose Ann reveal the nature of the Wingo parents?

8. How do the Wingo children get revenge on the Newburys?

9. What does Luke pray for before his father leaves for Korea?

10. How does Tom explain the recording of Savannah's psychotic seizure?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

A major idea in the novel is the concept of transformation. In fact, many of the characters in the novel undergo a transformation or reinvention throughout the course of the novel.

Choose ONE of the following characters and explore the details and significance of his or her transformation. Be sure to include specific and relevant evidence from the text as you develop your response.

A.) Tom.

B.) Savannah.

C.) Luke.

D.) Henry.

E.) Lila.

F.) Susan.

G.) Bernard.

Essay Topic 2

In 1906, George Santayana penned the famous line, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" (from "The Life of Reason"). Does Conroy's novel support or refute this assertion?

Write a critical lens essay in which you interpret Santayana's quote, agree or disagree with the quotation as you have interpreted it, and provide evidence in the form of specific literary techniques from the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

The game of football plays a major role in the lives and events of several characters throughout the novel. Discuss the role of football in the novel. What part does it play in the text? Be sure to examine at least three different accounts of football from the narrative as you develop your thesis about the significance of this sport in the novel.

(see the answer keys)

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