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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. According to Chapter 6, what was Tony's job before he disappeared?

2. Why will no one ever know what really happened to Eddie in the secret passageway of Grianan?

3. What does the boy think happened to Eddie in the secret passage of Grianan?

4. Where does Jimmy go to work for several years?

5. To whom does the baby sock belong?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What does Father Nugent talk to the boy narrator about and why does it make him uncomfortable?

3. Why is Crazy Joe such a valuable character to the story of Eddie's disappearance and death?

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

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

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

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

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

9. Why does the boy narrator find it important to his relationship with his mother that he keep her secret?

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

How might the story progress differently if told through the voice of another character? How does the young boy add to the story's mystery? What might we know differently if one of his parents narrated the story instead?

Essay Topic 2

Which characters in the novel would be considered guides for the boy narrator? What do they teach him? Are they positive or negative mentors?

Essay Topic 3

What is the significance of disappearance and death as themes in the novel?

1. Are these themes important to keeping the secret a mystery to the boy?

2. How does the story of Eddie's death change for the boy as more people disappear or die?

3. How are the stories told by the characters (Sean, Francis, Frances, Brigid, Claire Falkener, Grenaghan, etc.) all related to this theme of death and disappearance?

(see the answer keys)

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