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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. To whom is the boy attracted in Chapter 4?

2. What happens to the boy's mother after she stops taking the medicine?

3. For what does Sergeant Burke apologize in 1957?

4. What does the boy conclude about his mother during Chapter 5?

5. What passages of scripture does the boy find intriguing?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the boy's mother say that upsets Katie?

2. What is important about the boy's reading of the story of Eddie's death in Irish?

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

4. Why doesn't the boy reveal to his parents what he knows of Eddie's death?

5. Why does Sergeant Burke say he beat up Frank and why does he apologize for it?

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

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

8. What is Sergeant Burke's purpose for going to the boy's mother and revealing all that he knows of Eddie's death?

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

10. What does Sergeant Burke reveal about Eddie's death and Tony's involvement?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the novel, the boy encounters and overcomes many difficult situations in order to piece together his family's history and to find out what happened to his uncle. The story is riddled with sadness, death, poor choices, and loss; how can this story be redeemed? Is there any hope in this story? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Discuss the theme of secrets within the text. What kind of impact does secret-keeping have on the characters of the novel? How does it affect the plot as it progresses? Explain.

(see the answer keys)

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