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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What happens to the boy when the police come to search the house?
(a) He is beaten by the police.
(b) He is told to leave the house so they can search it.
(c) He is taken to the jail for further interrogation.
(d) He is hidden in the attic by his father.

2. What does "The Shan Van Vocht" mean?
(a) The Poor Old Woman.
(b) The Lovely Dark Land.
(c) The Land of Poverty.
(d) The Conflict of Past.

3. What does Crazy Joe say Larry's mysterious woman turns into?
(a) A butterfly.
(b) A deer.
(c) A fox.
(d) A bird.

4. Who gives a gun to the boy's father?
(a) A German sailor.
(b) A local policeman.
(c) A family friend.
(d) His grandfather.

5. What happens to both Brigid and Larry in Chapter 2?
(a) They both cannot see.
(b) They have lost their ability to speak.
(c) They are killed.
(d) They have both lost their jobs.

6. In October of 1952, where is the boy sent to live?
(a) With a neighbor.
(b) With his grandfather.
(c) With one of his uncles.
(d) With one of his aunts.

7. What do people believe lay below the ruins of Grianan?
(a) The souls of those who did not have a Christian burial.
(b) The souls of those who had disappeared.
(c) The ghosts of unborn children.
(d) The bodies of legendary ancient warriors.

8. Why does the boy's father hit him in Chapter 3?
(a) His father is drunk.
(b) The boy doesn't stop talking.
(c) The boy tells his father he should be blaming Eddie.
(d) The boy tells his father he hates him.

9. What type of stone chair is hidden in the ruins of Grianan?
(a) A stool.
(b) A throne.
(c) A wishing chair.
(d) A table chair.

10. Who tells the boy that some families are devil-haunted?
(a) Brigid.
(b) Katie.
(c) Bernadette.
(d) Frances.

11. What makes the boy feel distinctly uncomfortable in Chapter 1?
(a) What he finds in his sister's wardrobe.
(b) The book he reads in the dark.
(c) His mother's depression.
(d) His sympathy for the Protestant police.

12. Who is Katie?
(a) The boy's mother's sister.
(b) The boy's grandmother.
(c) The boy's father's aunt.
(d) The boy's sister.

13. In what year does the novel begin?
(a) 1921.
(b) 1945.
(c) 1936.
(d) 1948.

14. What key theme of the novel is introduced in Chapter 1?
(a) The disappearance of the boy's uncle.
(b) The conflict between the police and the IRA.
(c) The death of the boy's sister.
(d) The conflict between the Catholics and the Protestants.

15. What does the boy try to do after his talk with Sergeant Burke in Chapter 3?
(a) To talk to his father.
(b) To talk to his mother.
(c) To hide in his room.
(d) To run away.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why is the boys' mother upset when they return from their boat ride across the river?

2. Why does Brigid think she is going mad?

3. How does Rory Hannaway die?

4. Which two characters are introduced first at the beginning of the novel?

5. What is going to be built across the river?

(see the answer keys)

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