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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. Who offers the prayer at Hugh's wake?

2. Which teacher mentors Peter in baseball at the high school?

3. What fellow draft dodger advises Everett about a potential return to the United States?

4. What is Everett's reaction to Freddy's injury?

5. When Peter goes to visit Everett in Seattle on his way back to Harvard, where do they meet?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Irwin quit the baseball team?

2. What does Everett send to Irwin as a "homeopathic dose of sanity and antidote to Army Brain" in Book Five?

3. When Everett receives Natasha's letter proclaiming her love, how does he respond?

4. What does Laura plan to do at church in Chapter 8, and what ends up happening instead?

5. What position does Ty Daniels and the rest of the Portland Tug team take towards Hugh when he throws his last wild pitch and leaves the team?

6. What secret does Bet confide to Everett in her first letter in Book Six?

7. What secret about Linda does Bet reveal to Kincaid in Book Five?

8. What piece of pitching advice does Freddy recite at Hugh's wake?

9. How is Everett's attitude in regards to his imprisonment?

10. What causes Winnifred, or Freddy, to become upset at Sunday School with Mrs. Babcock and to begin quoting Muhammad?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Duty is a theme throughout The Brothers K. Discuss three different characters' views of duty and how it is exhibited by their statements and actions. Based on these accounts of duty, does Duncan create an overarching definition of duty?

Essay Topic 2

In the Brothers K, Duncan highlights several different strong female figures who go outside of the norm of typical gender roles of their time. Using at least two main characters from the novel, discuss what commentary Duncan is making about gender roles, particularly in regard to women in the United States.

Essay Topic 3

In The Brothers K, Duncan utilizes many popular historical baseball figures as characters and anecdotes throughout the novel. Using at least three examples of these figures from the text, discuss how the inclusion of these characters affects the plot and directs the themes of the novel.

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