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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. What does Rusty-James find to eat in the apartment?

2. In Chapter 2, where does Rusty-James go after storming out of Benny's?

3. When Patty breaks up with Rusty-James, what happens to his chest?

4. When Rusty-James goes home from school, who does he meet on the staircase?

5. What animal does Rusty-James say Steve looks like?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Rusty-James recognize about Motorcycle Boy when he sees some of Motorcycle Boy's old gang members?

2. Why does Rusty-James resent Steve's presence on the beach?

3. What does Rusty-James do to make sure he is taken to the hospital by the police?

4. How do the type of classes Rusty-James has in school impact his character?

5. Why is Rusty-James frightened when Motorcycle Boy smiles after he tells him the picture was a good one?

6. Why does Rusty-James not tell people that his father used to be a lawyer?

7. Why does Rusty-James leave at midnight to go out with Smokey and his cousin?

8. Why does Rusty-James like the ocean?

9. Why does Steve worry about everyone coming to witness the fight between Rusty-James and Biff?

10. Why does Steve think people in the neighborhood will have a heart attack if Rusty-James goes home?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Underage drinking, gambling, and smoking are a part of Rusty-James' everyday life. Analyze how these events alter Rusty-James' life and impact his interaction with those around him. How do these indulgences derail his life? Find descriptions from the text to support your answer and to provide evidence for your opinion.

Essay Topic 2

What is the importance of Rusty-James' knife scar? Why is this an important detail about his character? Find descriptions from the text to support your answer and to provide evidence for your opinion.

Essay Topic 3

"Rumble Fish" is told using a frame, a story in which the main story takes place in the past and is introduced and concluded by chapters set in the present. What it the purpose of using a frame story, and how is it effective in "Rumble Fish?"

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 557 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample