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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 does Goolrick watch by the river that excites him?

2. What did brother once stick in Goolrick's forehead?

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

4. What does George pull out from his pocket?

5. What did Lackman bake for Butter Day?

Short Essay Questions

1. Summarize Goolrick's experiences during kindergarten and first grade.

2. Explain Mrs. Lackman's process for bathroom breaks, and why it doesn't work with the children.

3. Explain what Goolrick means by calling his brother "a sly one" (pg. 124).

4. Describe Goolrick's reply to George's threat.

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

6. Describe the creek and explain why it is "violently sexy".

7. Describe Mrs. Lackman's son.

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

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

10. Explain how cream was used to make butter in the classroom.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

It is clear that Goolrick has developed, over the years, a deviant sense of sexuality. How is this displayed in the novel? What sexual experiences does Goolrick discuss from his early youth and his teenage years that show this deviance? How do these events tie into Goolrick's fear in his teens that he was sexually poisonous, and that his touch would kill others? Why did his masturbation become such an important event to him, and how did that event become frightening and painful? How do you think this effected his overall sexuality later in life?

Essay Topic 2

In "A Persistence of Song," Goolrick notes that he writes the novel with the hope that he can save one child from molestation. Do you think Goolrick's novel has the power to impact someone enough not to rape a child? Why or why not? Do you think the pain Goolrick's suffers in the novel is enough to convince a pedophile that their actions are not only inappropriate, but that they can ruin a life? Why? Do you think an alcoholic parent might take a moment to think about their actions with their children after reading this book?

Essay Topic 3

Foreshadowing is used heavily in the novel, as Goolrick flips between historical memory and current fact to weave together his painful memoir. Choose three examples of foreshadowing, and discuss them in depth in terms of how they were used to indicate what was to come later in the novel.

(see the answer keys)

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