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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. After his parents die, Eddie leaves. Where does everyone think he went?
(a) He went to America.
(b) He went to Grianan.
(c) He skipped town with his girlfriend.
(d) He enlisted in the IRA.

2. In Chapter 1, what causes the boy's mother to become inconsolable?
(a) Her husband leaves.
(b) One of her children dies.
(c) She loses her job.
(d) The boy becomes sick.

3. How does the boy describe how he got rid of the infestation in Chapter 3?
(a) He threw burning rags on them.
(b) He flooded the nests.
(c) He had the dogs eat them.
(d) He hired an exterminator.

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

5. In Chapter 1, where does the boy's mother ask him to take flowers?
(a) To a sick relative's house.
(b) To his teacher.
(c) To a grave.
(d) To his father.

6. 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.

7. When does Tony McIlhenny disappear?
(a) When Una dies.
(b) When Ena dies.
(c) When the boy is born.
(d) When Katie is pregnant.

8. Why does Brigid think she is going mad?
(a) The orphans keep changing.
(b) She keeps losing things.
(c) She sees ghosts out the window.
(d) She is losing her voice.

9. What causes the boy to have nightmares?
(a) Stories of the murder trial of 1922.
(b) His mother's unsuccessful suicide attempts caused by her depression.
(c) The death of his sister.
(d) His treatment by the police.

10. What is a specific characteristic of Brigid's behavior after the children disappear?
(a) She sings the children's song once a year.
(b) She never leaves her house.
(c) She pretends the children have never left.
(d) She skips wherever she goes.

11. When the boy and his brother, Liam, are taken across the river by their father, what does his father's explanation about Eddie reveal to the boy?
(a) His father knows more about Eddie's disappearance than does anyone else.
(b) His father knows nothing of Eddie's disappearance.
(c) Liam knows more about Eddie's disappearance than does the boy.
(d) The boy knows more than his father knows.

12. What is the subject of most of the songs the Catholics sing on the Feast of Assumption?
(a) The famine of 1740.
(b) The rebellion of 1798.
(c) The shootout of 1922.
(d) The black death of 1348.

13. Why is the murder case of 1921 thrown out of court?
(a) The evidence was tampered with.
(b) There wasn't enough evidence.
(c) The murder suspect had a proven alibi.
(d) The murder suspect disappeared.

14. What are the IRA gunmen protesting at the shootout at the distillery?
(a) The shutdown of the distillery.
(b) The prohibition of alcohol.
(c) The founding of Northern Ireland.
(d) The death of a policeman.

15. Why do the boy's father's drinking binges stop between 1920 and 1926?
(a) His father found out Eddie was innocent in 1926.
(b) His father revealed to his wife who killed Eddie in 1926.
(c) His father found out who killed Eddie in 1926.
(d) His father found out about Eddie being an informer in 1926.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does "The Shan Van Vocht" mean?

2. Who gives a gun to the boy's father?

3. Who is Billy Mahon?

4. According to the boy's father, how long has the boy's mother known about Eddie?

5. Who is Ena?

(see the answer keys)

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