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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 town do the boys reach by Christmas Eve?

2. What happens to Lonnie as Ralph gets more and more clay figure jobs?

3. Which of the following words best describes Ralph?

4. What is another thing Ralph buys for Lonnie when he is in town?

5. What idea does the receptionist give to Ralph?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens after the banker approves the clay bust?

2. What food is Ralph preparing for Christmas dinner and what ingredients does he send Lonnie to town to purchase?

3. What startling fact does Ralph learn related to Lonnie's leaving town?

4. What does Lonnie insist on doing when he has fully paid his portion of the car?

5. How does Lonnie occupy his time when Ralph is working on the clay busts?

6. How do the boys manage to get the milk necessary for the rice pudding?

7. What does Ralph decide to do when Lonnie starts to drain his money and what kind of person does this show Ralph to be?

8. Why do the boys end up driving to El Paso?

9. What is Ralph's plan for making money from the art jobs when it becomes difficult finding work in the small towns outside of El Paso?

10. What advice does the bank receptionist have for Ralph?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Despite the extremely trying times in this post-World War I era, the people who Ralph meets are, for the most part, very generous and supportive of each other. Cite at least three examples that show this strength of character and generosity.

Essay Topic 2

The author uses more than one instance of irony in the book. Cite at least two other examples you can identify in the novel and note why they are examples of irony.

Essay Topic 3

Create a character study of Ralph's mother. What are her physical characteristics? What are her motivations? What are her fears? What are her dreams? What else can you say about Ralph's mother?

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