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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 does the narrator think his father could never kill himself?

2. Who are Notts County playing in this book?

3. What does the narrator say the man has a face like?

4. What is the narrator's friend watching at the pictures?

5. What does Jim say is the first thing him and Phylis need to do?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Jim arrested?

2. What does Jim say went wrong in his marriage to Phyllis?

3. How do Lennox and Fred's views on marriage differ?

4. Describe the chase between the collector and Colin?

5. Why do Lennox's workmates tease him?

6. Why does the narrator come back to the man's house?

7. Why is Lennox upset with his children?

8. Why does the man want to kill himself?

9. Why does the policeman arrest the man?

10. What does the narrator say about his families' black looks?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the British class system.

1. What points does Sillitoe make about the British class system?

2. Why is it so difficult for two classes to get on together?

3. How have peoples' attitudes towards class changed in the different time periods portrayed in the book?

Essay Topic 2

Why is British slang and dialect so important to the stories meanings? What meaning would Sillitoe take away from the stories if he did not write in dialect and British slang?

Essay Topic 3

How was paediphilia viewed in fifties Britain? How would the authorities deal with someone like Jim in today's Britain?

(see the answer keys)

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