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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. In Chapter 1, why doesn't the boy's mother want him to cross by the window at the top of the stairs?
(a) The window is broken and glass shards cover the floor.
(b) Someone outside will see him.
(c) She senses a ghost nearby.
(d) Rain is pouring in from the open window.

2. What is distinct about Larry McLaughlin's character?
(a) He wanders.
(b) He does not talk.
(c) He is missing.
(d) He tells stories.

3. 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 black death of 1348.
(d) The shootout of 1922.

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. 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?

2. In Chapter 1, what causes the boy's mother to become inconsolable?

3. In June 1948, what does the boy witness?

4. In what year does the novel begin?

5. What type of stone chair is hidden in the ruins of Grianan?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does the boy throw a rock at Sergeant Burke's police car?

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

3. Why is Una's death seen as an outlet for the boy's mother?

4. What does the boy's grandfather tell him right before he dies?

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

6. Why doesn't the author ever reveal the narrator's first name?

7. Who is Tony and what happened to him?

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

9. 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?

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

(see the answer keys)

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