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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. For what purpose do the Whitcombs arrive at Sebastian and Nana's house the first time they come?

2. What is Sebastian's father doing in the only photograph of him that Sebastian has ever seen?

3. What is Nana's legal first name?

4. Nana tells Sebastian that an education means knowing how to do what?

5. When Jared asks Sebastian to start a band with him, he says he needs somebody who will do what he says, not someone with a real what?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain the Guiding Principles according to Buckminster Fuller's philosophy of life.

2. What comments of Sebastian's upon his first visit to Jared's house infuriate Jared and cause him to lash out at Sebastian?

3. What is the significance of the scene in which Jared shows his scar?

4. What does Sebastian reveal to the reader about crying during the scene when he is riding with Nana in the ambulance?

5. What does Nana say she discovers during a vision she has while Jared has been secretly visiting Jared for the first time?

6. What does Sebastian notice affixed to Jared's Mp3 player when Janice is driving him away from the hospital and what does it signify?

7. What is the significance of Sebastian's first experience in a record store?

8. What is the significance of the framed photographs of the dome that Nana and Sebastian sell in their gift shop?

9. What element of the pictures he finds of Sid Vicious does Sebastian find inspirational and encouraging?

10. What is the significance of Sebastian's secret password for the computer in the dome?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explicate the novel's theme of acting as a beacon of light for others in order to help them find their paths in life.

Essay Topic 2

What is the significance of Buckminster Fuller's philosophies within the novel and how do the tenets of his teaching interact with the novel's themes?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the significance of the novel's inclusion of the record store as a brief, yet meaningful and symbolic setting.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,159 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample