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

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

3. Who tells the boy about the murder of 1921?
(a) Neil McLaughlin.
(b) Brother Regan.
(c) Rory Hannaway.
(d) Billy Mahon.

4. According to the local belief his father told the boy, who gathers at the Field of the Disappeared at Christmas and other festivals?
(a) The souls of children who died at a young age.
(b) The souls of those who have not had a Christian burial.
(c) The souls of orphans.
(d) The souls of those who were murdered.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What happens that lets the boy know his father isn't upset anymore about the rose bushes?

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

3. Who tells the boy's father about Eddie's killing?

4. In Chapter 1, where does the boy's mother ask him to take flowers?

5. What is distinct about Larry McLaughlin's character?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What happens to Frances and Francis?

3. Describe the events surrounding the distillery and what happens to it.

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

5. What local belief surrounds the Field of the Disappeared?

6. How does the boy get rid of the rat problem?

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

8. Why is the boy narrator fond of Aunt Katie?

9. Describe the narrator.

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

(see the answer keys)

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