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. Why is the boy's mother afraid of her visitor?
(a) The person might take her from her family.
(b) The person might reveal too much.
(c) The person might find out too much.
(d) The person might hurt her.

2. Why does the boy's father threaten Crazy Joe in Chapter 6?
(a) Because he was trying to steal from the boy.
(b) Because he was giving the boy bad advice.
(c) Because he laid a hand on the boy's knee.
(d) Because he was mean to the boy.

3. What reason does the boy's mother give for not taking her medicine?
(a) She claims the medicine is a placebo.
(b) It tastes disgusting.
(c) She doesn't think it is working.
(d) It is ruining her teeth.

4. Which character dies in 1959?
(a) Sergeant Burke.
(b) Katie McIlhenny.
(c) Tony McIlhenny.
(d) Crazy Joe.

5. What does the boy conclude about his mother during Chapter 5?
(a) She always knew about Eddie's death.
(b) She was always insane.
(c) She always knew McIlhenny was an informer.
(d) She didn't really like Tony.

Short Answer Questions

1. In what language does the boy write the final copy?

2. Who does Larry meet on his way home from Grianan?

3. Who teaches the boy about sex?

4. What happens two days before the boy visits his parents in Chapter 6?

5. What does the boy's mother say out-of-the-blue while he is washing dishes with his father?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Why is the boy again upset with his mother at the end of Chapter 5?

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

4. What does the boy believe about his loyalties to his parents as he sets off to college?

5. Why does Katie's family refuse to attend Meave's wedding?

6. What happens to Jimmy and Claire?

7. How is the boy's mother's interpretation of the story of Sean and the baby sock a reflection on her own relationship with Tony McIlhenny and her role in Eddie's murder?

8. What does the boy mean when he says he has become the "plague himself" by wanting to know what had "plagued her"?

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

10. How does his mother's inability to speak because of her stroke affect her relationship with the boy?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 715 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample