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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 is the narrator's father's name?

2. How many free throws has JB hit in a row, according to Josh in "I'm on Free Throw Number Twenty-Seven"?

3. In "Basketball Rule #1" the narrator says, "In this game of life, your family is" what?

4. What does the narrator describe hitting his brother over the head with in "On the Way to the Game"?

5. What does Josh describe eating for lunch in "JB and I"?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Josh define "irony" in "Ironic"? How does he apply irony to his life?

2. How do JB and Josh respond to their father's collapse in "I"m on Free Throw Number Twenty-Seven"?

3. How does Josh describe JB's behavior in the first poem titled "Conversation" from "Second Quarter"?

4. Why does Josh lie to his father in "35-18"?

5. How does Josh describe his brother in "Jordan Bell"?

6. What literary device stand out the most in the poem "Showoff"? What are examples?

7. Who is Josh Bell and what role does he play in "The Crossover"?

8. What metaphors are seen in "Basketball Rule #1"?

9. What does Coach Hawkins have his team do in "At Practice"? Why?

10. How is the "character" of Filthy McNasty described in the poem by the same name?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze and discuss the character of Vondie Little in The Crossover. How do Josh and JB know Vondie? How do their relationships evolve in the course of the narrative? Is Vondie a likable character? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Josh's feelings about Alexis (Miss Sweet Tea) in the narrative. Why does Josh express jealousy over Alexis? What do you think Alexis represents symbolically in the story? Why?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the symbolism of Josh's dreadlocks in The Crossover. What reasons does Josh give for having dreadlocks? What does it signify when his dreadlocks are cut off? Who cuts them off?

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