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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who is the hero of the novel the boy reads in the dark?
(a) Simon.
(b) Rory.
(c) Robert.
(d) Patrick.

2. To whom is Larry McLaughlin related?
(a) Francis.
(b) Katie.
(c) The boy narrator.
(d) Brigid.

3. What happens to the distillery after the shootout?
(a) It is shutdown.
(b) It explodes.
(c) It is rebuilt.
(d) It floods.

4. What does Sergeant Burke suggest to the boy as he gives him a ride home?
(a) That Eddie was involved in something dangerous before his disappearance.
(b) That Eddie was killed.
(c) That the boy's father doesn't know what really happened to Eddie.
(d) That the boy's father is responsible for Eddie's disappearance.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Crazy Joe say Larry's mysterious woman turns into?

2. What does the boy's father do for a living?

3. Why do the boy's father's drinking binges stop between 1920 and 1926?

4. What color is the light above the graves of Francis and Frances' parents?

5. Who is hired to look after the two children, Francis and Frances?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How is the boy's father's life seen as very difficult and sad?

3. Describe Crazy Joe.

4. What strong religious beliefs of his community does the boy share in the beginning of Chapter 1?

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

6. What happens to Frances and Francis?

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

8. What memory does the boy have of an interaction between him and Crazy Joe?

9. How is the novel The Shan Van Vocht an example of female symbolism?

10. How are superstitions introduced in Chapter 1?

(see the answer keys)

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