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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. Right before bed in Chapter 14, how is Shawn feeling?

2. In the stanza of the poem that opens Chapter 12, who or what is dead?

3. After Shawn's father sits on his oversized crib, what does he do to Shawn?

4. While at the Pacific Science Center, Shawn indicates someone "looks a lot more 'mad' back then." Who is Shawn referring to?

5. What item is not in Shawn's father's bedroom?

Short Essay Questions

1. If Shawn has never been to his father's house, does Shawn have an accurate knowledge of what his father's bedroom looks like, and if so, how does he know?

2. Why is Vonda excited to meet Shawn's father?

3. What did Shawn's father do at the Pacific Science Center when Shawn was eight years old?

4. What does Shawn mean when he says that "invisibility has its advantages" when it comes to girls?

5. The morning after Ally spends the night, why does Shawn think that something is wrong?

6. While Shawn has a doozy of a seizure during the end of the Alice Ponds show, what does he experience?

7. Which characters are going to Spokane in chapter 13 and why is it significant that they are going?

8. How does Shawn react to meeting his sister's friend Ally, and why?

9. How does Shawn describe the African animal mobile that hangs over his bed, and why does he describe it in this manner?

10. What are some of the things in Chapter 10 that Shawn remembers about his mother from over the years that make him feel loved?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

One of Sydney McDaniel's main reasons for saying he wants to end Shawn's life is because he says he wants to end Shawn's "pain." What does Sydney think that the pain is like for Shawn when he has his daily seizures? Where does he get his information? Is he correct? Name three ways that Sydney's reaction to his son's seizures affects Shawn and the entire family?

Essay Topic 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

Shawn's mother calls his brother and sister into the living room, to tell Paul and Cindy that their father is working on the Earl Detraux project. Describe the reaction of Cindy and Paul to their father's latest project and the talk show.

Part 1) What is Cindy's reaction to her father's latest project, both before and after the kids discuss it with their mother. Does she already know about Detraux? What does she think about what Earl does? What does she think about her father's involvement in this topic, and to what does she attribute his involvement? Consider the same questions for Paul.

Part 2) Describe the difference in how Cindy and Paul react to their father's project after they discuss the topic with their mother.

(see the answer keys)

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