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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In what language does the boy write the final copy?
(a) French.
(b) Irish.
(c) German.
(d) English.

2. When do the boy's parents marry?
(a) 1935.
(b) 1926.
(c) 1933.
(d) 1930.

3. When does the boy's mother find out the truth about Eddie?
(a) She never learns the truth of Eddie's death.
(b) Right before her father dies.
(c) After she marries the boy's father.
(d) After Tony disappears.

4. Why does the boy not tell his mother everything he knows about Eddie's death?
(a) He doesn't think she deserves to know.
(b) He is afraid of her reaction.
(c) He thinks that she already knows the truth but is hiding it.
(d) He thinks she is too sensitive to handle the truth.

5. What happens to the boy's mother after she stops taking the medicine?
(a) She loses her memory.
(b) Her state of mind improves.
(c) She becomes healthier.
(d) She becomes suicidal.

6. Where is Eddie interrogated?
(a) At the Donegal farmhouse.
(b) In the shed.
(c) At the distillery.
(d) Behind the house.

7. After the boy's mother develops depression, what does she begin to have visions of?
(a) Fire.
(b) Eddie.
(c) Ghosts.
(d) Death.

8. What is the moral of the story about the man with the baby sock?
(a) People can't move on if they don't let go.
(b) People won't find anything if they keep their eyes closed for too long.
(c) People will only find what they're looking for if they stop searching.
(d) People in small places make big mistakes.

9. What language does the boy use to his advantage because his parents do not understand it?
(a) English.
(b) Irish.
(c) German.
(d) French.

10. Where does Charlie McCabe frequent?
(a) Grianan.
(b) The library.
(c) The brothel.
(d) The distillery.

11. When Sergeant Burke comes to talk to the boy's mother, what does he reveal as his reason for beating her husband?
(a) He thought Frank was guilty at the time.
(b) Self-defense.
(c) To keep Frank out of jail.
(d) He had evidence that Frank was involved in Eddie's death.

12. What happens two days before the boy visits his parents in Chapter 6?
(a) A soldier is shot dead on their doorstep.
(b) His mother dies.
(c) The story of Eddie's death becomes public.
(d) The town gets snowed in.

13. In what year does the novel conclude?
(a) 1973.
(b) 1977.
(c) 1970.
(d) 1971.

14. Who is Jimmy from Chapter 4?
(a) A clergyman at the church.
(b) Grenaghan's grandfather.
(c) A neighbor.
(d) One of the boy's uncles.

15. What does the boy say is significant because of the mother's change?
(a) She is no longer depressed.
(b) Her mind won't linger on the secret of loving McIlhenny anymore.
(c) She can't hear the lies about Eddie any longer.
(d) Her secret is now locked inside of her.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who was Jimmy in love with?

2. What passages of scripture does the boy find intriguing?

3. When Katie goes to England to attend her daughter's wedding, why does the rest of her family refuse to attend?

4. What version of the boy's story does he burn?

5. Who is the man who always carried a baby sock in his small brown case?

(see the answer keys)

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