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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 Ralph buy Lonnie when he is in town?

2. Why does Ralph give money to Lonnie?

3. What clay figure is Ralph working on for the bank receptionist?

4. In what state is the town of Safford located?

5. What does Ralph add to the bust of the second banker?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is shown about the boys' personalities in this section?

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

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

4. How is Lonnie more of a hindrance than a help regarding the clay bust work and what does Ralph need to do so that the artwork will not be ruined?

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

6. Describe the difficult time that Ralph has with the attorney in El Paso.

7. 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?

8. What does Ralph take to the bank in Safford and what offer does he make there?

9. What does Ralph not want his mother to know, and what are his plans for settling down?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Project into the future ten years after the end of the novel and write a brief synopsis for Ralph's life. Will he still be alive? Who will be present in his life? Where will he be living? What will his thoughts about the world be at this time? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

What is the overall setting for the novel? Be sure to include geography, time period and any pertinent popular culture events. Why did Moody choose to use these places in the novel?

Essay Topic 3

Create a character study of Lonnie. What are his physical characteristics? What are his motivations? What are his fears? What are his dreams? What else can you say about Lonnie?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 968 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample