View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to the discussion between Shawn's parents the last time that Shawn's father feeds him, who does not believe in God?

2. What do Shawn's eyes tend to focus on?

3. What sensory experiences does Shawn remember as they drive away from the scene of the accident?

4. What does Shawn try not to do too much?

5. During the premiere reading of the poem, where is Shawn sitting?

Short Essay Questions

1. How much control does Shawn have over his seizures?

2. How does Shawn's special gift progress and strengthen?

3. How does Shawn describe the tests administered by the school psychologist?

4. What does Cindy do when the dog is hit by a car?

5. When talking to her mother, how does Cindy explain her experience with the dog's death?

6. What movements does Shawn's body make and what controls them?

7. Despite his irritation at the world premiere reading of the poem, what things does Shawn like about the poem?

8. What does Shawn's father throw at the crow, and does he hit or miss its target?

9. What does the encounter with the crow reveal to Shawn's father, and what thought occurs to him?

10. What is the little ritual that Shawn's father performs every time he visits Shawn?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Cindy often has sleepovers and Shawn's reaction to his sister's friends shows that in some ways he is a typical teenage boy.

Part 1) How does his sister and her friends regard Shawn? How do they think of him? How do they react to him and behave around him?

Part 2) How does Shawn normally react to his sister's friends? How does he react to Ally? Does he judge her behavior by the same standards as he uses for other girls? Why or why not?

Part 3) Why does Shawn think that Ally is "so perfect!"? Is he reacting like a normal teenage boy, or is something else at play here? How does his reaction to Ally help or hinder the plot?

Essay Topic 2

What are Shawn's main methods for learning about life? Does he learn from people, through other means, or both? How does Shawn learn in these ways? What challenges does learning in these ways present? How does Shawn's intelligence and genius help or hinder him in the process when he encounters a learning challenge?

Essay Topic 3

Shawn remembers attending the reading of the Pulitzer Prize winning poem that Sydney McDaniel writes. Why does Shawn become uncharacteristically annoyed on the night of the poem reading? Are there any aspects of the reading that do not annoy him? Name at least three reasons for each and explain Shawn's feelings in each case.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,083 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample