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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 version of the boy's story does he burn?
(a) The miscopied version.
(b) The final version.
(c) The English version.
(d) The Irish version.

2. At the very end of the book, what does the narrator think he hears as he is going down the stairs?
(a) A sigh.
(b) The clock tower.
(c) A siren.
(d) A bird.

3. What is wrong about the boy taking Irene to the cinema?
(a) She is Grenaghan's girlfriend.
(b) The cinema is closed.
(c) He forgets where the cinema is.
(d) He doesn't have any money.

4. Who told the boy the story of the man with the baby sock?
(a) His father.
(b) His mother.
(c) Katie.
(d) Crazy Joe.

5. What event is introduced at the local community hall?
(a) Dinner gatherings.
(b) Social evenings with music.
(c) Job fairs.
(d) Textiles classes.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does the boy's father die?

2. What reason does the boy's mother give for not taking her medicine?

3. After his mother tells him much of the story of Eddie's death at the end of Chapter 5, why is the boy still hurt?

4. Upon what does the Anglican army chaplain say communism is based?

5. In September 1954, the boy's teacher asks several unanswerable questions in which class?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the boy conclude that it was his mother who tipped off McIlhenny?

2. What scripture passages does the boy enjoy reading, but why do they trouble him?

3. Why does the boy's mother begin to treat him unkindly?

4. What is the boy punished for by the Dean and what is his punishment?

5. What does Crazy Joe know about the mystery surrounding Eddie's death?

6. What does the boy recall about "unconditional love"?

7. Why does the boy's evening with Irene prove to be a disappointment?

8. Why does the boy's mother turn hostile toward him in Chapter 6?

9. What information does the boy's mother find out after Sergeant Burke dies that makes her angry?

10. The boy's mother is saddened throughout the entire novel, but why does her depression set in after her grandfather dies?

(see the answer keys)

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