View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How soon after arriving in Fort Worth did Denver meet Deborah?

2. What is the "hobo code of honor" that Denver discovered in Chapter 15?

3. After three years of hard work and debt due to sharecropping, what did Uncle James do?

4. What did Ron give Deborah after he became wealthy to make her forgive him for using her stock?

5. What type of person was Uncle James?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Mr. Ballantine treat Denver when he first met him and how did Mr. Ballantine arrive at the mission?

2. Explain how Denver felt about Deborah's illness and why it reminded him of his past.

3. How did Denver come to work as a sharecropper and who was responsible for his involvement?

4. Explain Deborah and Ron's differing reasons for becoming volunteers at the Union Gospel Mission.

5. In the final chapters of the book, explain the relationship that had developed between Ron and Denver.

6. With how much money did Denver return from Colorado and what was Ron's reaction?

7. Explain why Denver's upbringing and level of education might have made it difficult for him to start a new life away from the plantation.

8. Explain the conflict over white women between the "good ole' boys" and black men during the time that Denver was growing up in Louisiana.

9. What chain of events in Fort Worth lead Denver to come stay at the Union Gospel Mission?

10. What happened to Ron's art gallery in Chapter 2: Ron that confirmed his negative attitude toward the homeless?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

After Denver escaped the plantation on a freight train, he wandered for several years before ending up homeless on the streets of Fort Worth and eventually arriving at the Union Gospel Mission.

Part 1. Explain the "hobo code of honor" and how Denver ended up with a car because of it. For what purpose did Denver use the car?

Part 2. Under what conditions did Denver finally accept a bed at the mission?

Part 3. Explain what and where The Lot was. What did the mission volunteers do there?

Essay Topic 2

Ron grew up in a lower-middle class home and spent his summers with his grandfather, a farmer and landowner.

Part 1. Describe Ron's parents. Do you think Ron was well-cared for as a child?

Part 2. Explain why or not Ron's grandfather was the Man. Did he treat his white and colored workers differently?

Part 3. Consider how Ron felt about the poor and homeless when he grew up. Find two reasons from Ron's childhood that might explain why Ron felt this way as an adult.

Essay Topic 3

Deborah worked at the mission because she felt that God wanted her there, but Ron had different reasons.

Part 1. Explain the circumstances in the lives of Deborah and Ron led Ron to come work at the mission.

Part 2. Why did Ron decide to join Deborah in her volunteer work? Explain.

Part 3. Describe how and why the friendship between Denver and Ron began soon after Ron started to volunteer at the mission. Who encouraged this friendship?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,097 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample