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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. In 1949, the police arrive at the boy's house in search of what?

3. In Chapter 1, why doesn't the boy's mother want him to cross by the window at the top of the stairs?

4. What does Sergeant Burke suggest to the boy as he gives him a ride home?

5. In what ways are the boys in the math class punished if they do not answer the questions correctly?

Short Essay Questions

1. How are superstitions introduced in Chapter 1?

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

3. Why is the boy uncomfortable with the sympathy he feels for the police after Rory Hannaway's death?

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

5. Describe Crazy Joe.

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

7. Describe the boy's relationship with his mother.

8. What happens to Frances and Francis?

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

10. 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?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

If you were the boy narrator, would you have kept the information you found out about Eddie's death a secret? The boy narrator does not reveal to his mother what he knows; would you have done the same? What might have changed if the boy had told his mother what he knew?

Essay Topic 2

Throughout the novel, the boy's mother deals repeatedly with depression as her role in Eddie's death is progressively revealed.

1. How is she involved in the mystery surrounding Eddie's disappearance?

2. How is her relationship with Tony McIlhenny a factor in her involvement?

3. Do you think she should feel guilty?

Support your answers with evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 3

Does the boy narrator experience any form of catharsis in the novel? If so, what level of catharsis does he attain? Explain.

(see the answer keys)

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