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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. How old was the boy's father when he was left in charge of the family?

2. Where are the boy's father's sisters sent to live after the death of their parents?

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

4. Who is the hero of the novel the boy reads in the dark?

5. After his parents die, Eddie leaves. Where does everyone think he went?

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

3. What happens to Frances and Francis?

4. How can we see in Chapter 2 that the belief in the supernatural is a powerful force in Northern Ireland during this time?

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

6. How is the motif of fire used in Chapter 3?

7. 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?

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

9. Why is the disappearance of Uncle Eddie such a mystery?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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

Essay Topic 2

If this story had happened in America, how might it change? What details would be different? What historical events in America might have affected the story? How might the characters behave differently?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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