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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. Why goes Goolrick call walking by the river "violently sexy" (pg. 135)?

2. Why did the McClouds throw Goolrick out?

3. What can Goolrick smell in George's shirt?

4. Who woke to see the molestation?

5. What word do the Goolrick's use instead of fabrics?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe why Goolrick was compelled to masturbate, in terms of how it made him feel and how it allowed him to escape.

2. Explain the title of this chapter, "Such Charming Hands."

3. What does Goolrick mean by "how did they thrive so long, and then fail" at the end of this chapter?

4. Describe what happened when Goolrick's brother refused to eat when they were children.

5. Explain what happened to Goolrick when he was four years old.

6. Explain what happened the morning after Goolrick was molested.

7. Explain the confrontation between Goolrick and his mother in the first grade.

8. Explain that pageants of Mrs. Lackman's classes.

9. What does Goolrick mean when he says he has spent his life looking for the thing that will make him into whom he wants to be?

10. Explain Goolrick's graduation speech.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the novel, Goolrick admits to constantly seeking satisfaction, love, affection, and acceptance, through drugs, alcohol, sex, and material possessions. Discuss these issues in detail. Why did Goolrick always feel he was not complete? Why did he use alcohol and drugs? What was he trying to hide? Why did he stop allowing others to love him, and stop loving others, as well? Do you think all his issues are related to his childhood trauma, or are these issues related to a lifetime of abuse? Do you think that lifetime of abuse would have occurred if the molestation had not happened? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Goolrick's mother, according to Goolrick in "The End of the World as We Know It," seemed to blame him for the molestation, as though he had done something to deserve it, or had somehow asked for it. Do you think this is merely how Goolrick felt, or do you think she actually felt this way? Why? How did she show her feelings for Goolrick, according to his statements in the rest of the novel? Was she kind, horrific, or both, and why? Be sure to use examples from the book.

Essay Topic 3

Describe the school system Goolrick participated in as a kindergarten and first grade student. Be sure to include information about the teacher, the classrooms, learning environments, social environments, any special events, and the impact those issues had on Goolrick and possibly the other children.

(see the answer keys)

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