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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. When did Mervyn's parents discover he had not passed the entrance exams for the university?

2. What game did the insurgents play with Michael's younger sister Susan when they came to Rock Hill?

3. How much did Michael pay for a pair of sandals his first week in Ceylon?

4. Near what continent is Ceylon located?

5. What color was a church painted that Michael saw on Reclamation Street in Colombo?

Short Essay Questions

1. In the introduction to Chapter 1, what nightmare did Michael experience?

2. How did Michael feel when he awoke from a friend's house near Lake Ontario?

3. Describe the kabaragoya Michael and the children found dead on the beach.

4. Why did Mervyn take a short trip to Ireland when the university closed down?

5. Why was it difficult for Mervyn's father to argue with Mervyn?

6. What did Michael see in a dream when he was staying at a friend's house near Lake Ontario?

7. Under what condition, did a friend tell Michael that he seemed to know exactly what he wanted?

8. What did Mervyn use at Rock Hill to deter the snakes?

9. What could Michael see and hear in his friend's house when he awoke from a dream?

10. What did Lalla look like when she was at the racetrack?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Michael's purpose for writing "Running in the Family" and whether he achieved his purpose.

Essay Topic 2

Michael was given insight into his thought process by a friend. Discuss how Michael's thought process worked.

Essay Topic 3

When Mervyn was drinking, Doris believed that getting him to stop drinking required total war. Discuss how Doris waged war against Mervyn's drinking.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 702 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample