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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. How many students in the CAT class does Moby know have picketed outside the town's abortion clinic?

2. When the story opens, how old is the narrator?

3. According to what Sarah Byrnes told Dale as he suggested topics for his first article, what did Sarah Byrnes see herself as?

4. According to Sarah Byrnes' theory, who told Dale Thornton that Moby was responsible for "Crispy Pork Rinds"?

5. When Ellerby and Moby begin discussing Ellerby's relationship with his father, how does Ellerby characterize the relationship?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Huey-Dewey?

2. According to what the narrator's hospitalized friend told him, why were her burns never surgically corrected?

3. According to what Dale Thornton tells Moby in front of Moby's house, how did Sarah Byrnes get the burns on her face?

4. According to the bumper sticker on Ellerby's car, what are the wages of sin?

5. Why does Ellerby sometimes threaten to give his Rottweiler to Moby?

6. What is Ms. Lemry's initial argument to Mark when he tries to drop the CAT class?

7. When Mark and Jody are trying to drop the CAT class, what does Moby whisper into Jody's ear?

8. How does the narrator describe his hospitalized friend without spirit in her eyes?

9. Which of Moby's dysfunctional behaviors does his mother hate the most?

10. What is nearly impossible for Moby to admit to other people?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

One of the main themes is this novel involves bullying.

a. Identify three characters that are bullies. For each character, describe an instance in which the character bullied someone else.

b. Why do these characters bully others?

c. What is the outcome for these characters? Were they successful in their endeavors or would they have been more successful if they had not tried to bully the other person? Explain your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast how the character of Mark Brittain changes as the story progresses. Be sure to include your assessment of Mark's character when he is first introduced at swim practice, when he confronts Ellerby in CAT regarding the abortion issue, when he accuses Jody of lying and when he finally seeks Moby's advice about how to repair the damage he has done. Use examples from the story to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

In many ways, the novel is a series of contrasts designed to heighten the reader's awareness and draw the reader deeper into the story and the intricacies of each of the story's characters. Identify at least three contrasts that are used in the novel. Describe these contrasts and determine how they impact the story's plot, as well as the reader's emotional involvement in the characters' lives. If these identified contrasts were not included in the story, what impact would their absence have on the storyline, the characters' development and the readers' involvement?

(see the answer keys)

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