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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 does Dr. Finch initially react to the giant hole in his kitchen ceiling?

2. Where does Natalie hope to go to college?

3. Why does Augusten want to commit suicide?

4. How old was Natalie's boyfriend, Terrence Maxwell, when she moved in with him at the age of 13?

5. Where does Troy live?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Hope respond to Augusten's desire to move to New York City?

2. What is Augusten looking forward to doing after his mother leaves for the poetry reading?

3. What is the side room of Dr. Finch's office used for?

4. What is Augusten expecting of the Finch's home, and what does he find?

5. What happens when Poo Bear walks in on the kids playing with the electroshock machine?

6. What is "Bible-dipping'?

7. What does Augusten become obsessed with, relating to his future employment aspirations?

8. Why is there a giant hole in the Finch's kitchen ceiling?

9. How does Augusten describe his parents at the opening of the novel?

10. What is Augusten uncomfortable at school, and what does he do about it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Finch family uses many methods to receive messages from God when they are stressed out about a situation. Compare and contrast the two methods of communication that Hope and Dr. Finch use to speak to God about their troubles, and then explain why you think the Finch family believes that they are in open communication with God about their trivial problems.

Essay Topic 2

The story is ultimately Augusten Burroughs' account of his childhood. Compare / contrast the boy that Augusten is in the beginning of the novel with the man that he is in the end and give one example of a scene that irrevocably changed the course of Augusten Burroughs' life.

Essay Topic 3

The sexuality of the characters is a huge theme throughout the memoir. Give two examples of inappropriate sexual relationships between adults and children in the memoir. Then explain the way that the Finch family deals with those sexual relationships and the way that these relationships have shaped and scarred the children involved.

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