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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 the doctor reveal later to Gene?

2. Who is ridiculed for wanting to finish school before enlisting?

3. What, at first, does Gene conclude that Leper has done?

4. Who is waiting for Gene when he returns to his dorm room?

5. Who is impressed with the influence it must have taken Gene to get a room all to himself?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Finny say about the war?

2. Why does Finny suddenly begin to believe that the war is real?

3. What does Gene do when Finny expresses his shock and disappointment in the idea of Finny enlisting?

4. What eventually happens when the boys realize what Finny is doing in #49?

5. Why do the boys ridicule Quackenbush?

6. When the students of Devon are looking at different options for military recruitment, what is guiding their decision?

7. What do Gene and the other boys volunteer to do to support the war effort?

8. What does Finny decide to do in order to pass the time in the winter?

9. Where is the secret Christmas Location that Leper refers to?

10. What was the result of Finny's accident this time?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

While Gene is the narrator of the story, it seems most of the action and reaction in the story is related to Finny.

Part 1: Why is Gene the more important character in this novel?

Part 2: Why doesn't Finny make sense as the main character in this book?

Part 3: Is there another character you feel is even more important? Support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

The tree by the river is the site of many victories and one foreboding accident. Juxtaposing nature with tragedy seems to cause the reader to react more strongly than they might have had the accident occurred in another setting.

Part 1: What might the symbolism of the tree mean in the story? What might the tree represent to the characters and to the plot?

Part 2: Describe the victories that occur at the place of the tree.

Part 3: How does the tree affect each of the main characters in this novel?

(see the answer keys)

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