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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. Where does Jamal hide the gun at home?

2. What kind of climate does Jamal's best friend want to live in?

3. What is the symbol of the gang?

4. Who does Jamal get to hide his gun before his fight with Dwayne?

5. Where is the bulk of this book set?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Dwayne do after his first fight with Jamal?

2. What makes Jamal's day better after he gets home from helping paint the sets?

3. What does the Principal threaten to do to Jamal if his behavior does not improve?

4. What does Jamal do after school the day after his meeting with Mack?

5. Who does the principal blame for Jamal's tardiness and why?

6. Why is Jamal sent to the principal after his meeting with Mack?

7. What does Jamal do after he is badly beaten in his fight with Dwayne?

8. What does Mama ask Jamal when she gets home at the beginning of the book?

9. What kind of climate does Tito want to live in and why?

10. What does Jamal do when the gang starts arguing about Jamal being the new leader of the gang?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Jamal saw the men in his life making his mother cry, and promised himself to never do the same thing. How did Jamal go about keeping this promise, and how did this shape the course of the plot?

Essay Topic 2

Tito and Jamal are two very similar people, and yet they have some very notable and important differences. Using the text to cite some support, write a compare/contrast essay about these two characters.

Essay Topic 3

What did Jamal do at the boat basin, and how did what happened there change his ideas on life?

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