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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 Dick have to reprimand Charlie about?

2. What is attached to the harpooned fish that allows the fishermen to follow it in the water?

3. What name does Parker call Dick?

4. Elsie says that Dick is _____________.

5. What do Dick and Elsie do in the mud?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the author use irony in the scenario on the dock with the cops and the drug-sniffing dog?

2. Explain Dick's internal conflict and how it relates to Parker's influence.

3. How does Dick misread the message that Elsie sends when she tells him to leave her with the secret of their affair?

4. What is revealed about Dick's personality in Chapter 2 when he and his sons dig for illegal clams in the bird sanctuary?

5. How does the author show that May is probably aware of Dick's affair with Elsie?

6. Explain Dick's thoughts as he begins to understand the complications of the drug smuggling situation with Parker.

7. Describe the parallel that emerges between Dick and his deceased father.

8. How does the author show the vulnerable side of Elsie's normally strong personality?

9. Who is Miss Perry and what is her relationship to Dick and his family?

10. How does Dick think May will respond if she ever finds out about his affair with Elsie?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the Neptune. What is its role in the community? Is it typical of establishments in small towns in America?

Essay Topic 2

Casey uses humor in the story to both entertain and convey character. Cite at least two examples which you find especially humorous.

Essay Topic 3

Describe the overall setting for the novel. Why does Casey use the setting he does? What is the time period of the story? How important is the time period to the attitudes and issues of the characters?

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