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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 Finny do with Gene to make him late?

2. What does the substitute teacher want to scold Gene and Finny for missing?

3. What seems distant and unreal in a time of war?

4. What is the game Finny invents?

5. Who does Gene suspect is sabotaging his success?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the doctor say about the outcome of Finny's injury?

2. What happens as Gene loses his balance on the branch with Finny?

3. What happens when Gene and Finny decide to try another double jump from the branch?

4. What does Finny say when Gene asks him what he remembers about the fall?

5. What does Finny convince Gene to do that is forbidden by the school?

6. What is one of the main rules for the secret club that Finny and Gene have created?

7. What is Gene the only witness to?

8. Compare and contrast Brinker and Leper.

9. Who does Gene describe the tree when he was younger and standing in front of it with other boys?

10. What seemed so much larger to Gene, as told by him, when he was younger as opposed to now?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

It's interesting to note that parents aren't mentioned often in this story - only Brinker's dad and Leper's mother are introduced fully.

Part 1: Describe Brinker's father.

Part 2: Describe Leper's mother.

Part 3: What do these characters seem to say about the differences between the older and the younger generations?

Essay Topic 2

The perception of the war is one that seems to change during the novel as well as fluctuate from the start to the finish of the novel.

Part 1: List the people in the novel who support the war. How do they show this support?

Part 2: List the people in the novel who do not support the war. How do they show their displeasure?

Part 3: What do you think the boys think of the war in general? Is this a 'good' or a 'bad' war? Support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

With World War II looming in the background of this novel, the darker nature of the world outside of Devon is hard to escape.

Part 1: What does World War II symbolize in this novel?

Part 2: What is the significance of World War II to each of the characters in the novel?

Part 3: How does the war relate to the title of this book?

(see the answer keys)

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