View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who is the real informer?
(a) Crazy Joe.
(b) The boy's grandfather.
(c) Larry McLaughlin.
(d) Tony McIlhenny.

2. During the war, when the alarms go off because of the air raids, where does the family hide?
(a) In the bathtub.
(b) In the neighbor's house.
(c) In the air raid shelters.
(d) Under the stairs.

3. From which part of the traditions of both Protestants and Catholics does the boy derive excitement?
(a) The bonfires.
(b) The gathering.
(c) The dancing.
(d) The singing.

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

5. Who is Billy Mahon?
(a) A friend of the family.
(b) A priest.
(c) A policeman.
(d) A neighbor.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the subject of most of the songs the Catholics sing on the Feast of Assumption?

2. When does Tony McIlhenny disappear?

3. Why does Brigid think she is going mad?

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

5. Which of the boy's relatives dies in October 1949?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Tony and what happened to him?

2. How do we see the boy react and respond to his circumstances in Chapter 1 instead of accepting them at face value?

3. How is the theme of disappearance used in Chapter 1?

4. Why does the boy try to run away in Chapter 3?

5. Describe Crazy Joe.

6. What happens to Larry McLaughlin?

7. When the boy's father takes him and his brother Liam out on the boat, what does his father reveal to them and why does it make the boy feel uncomfortable?

8. The theme of disappearance is further discussed in Chapter 2. Explain.

9. What causes the rat infestation mentioned in Chapter 3?

10. Describe the narrator.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 695 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample