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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. On the last day of school, Mr. Hill gave Elwood a book by which black writer?
(a) James Baldwin.
(b) Langston Hughes.
(c) Lucille Clifton.
(d) Zora Neale Hurston.

2. On what "side" of the Nickel Academy's property was the "secret graveyard" (3) discovered?
(a) North.
(b) East.
(c) South.
(d) West.

3. How many afternoons did Elwood spend at the Richmond Hotel after the trick was played on him with the use of encyclopedias?
(a) 3.
(b) 30.
(c) 9.
(d) 1.

4. Elwood was shocked to find that "most of the Nickel boys couldn't" (59) take what action?
(a) Drive.
(b) Swim.
(c) Sit down.
(d) Read.

5. What was Elwood's answer when he was later asked "how many licks he got" (68) at the White House?
(a) He did not know.
(b) 50.
(c) None.
(d) 20.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which student was often moved back and forth between the white campus and black campus of Nickel during Elwood's incarceration?

2. When Elwood joined the A and M students in a protest during his junior year, they were all fighting to integrate what type of establishments?

3. When Elwood Curtis saw what kind of trees over the shoulder of the reporter on television, he knew he would have to return to the Nickel Academy?

4. Elwood became transfixed by the photo essays published in which magazine sold in Mr. Marconi's shop?

5. What subject did Mr. Hill teach at Lincoln High School when he talked to Elwood about taking college classes during Elwood's senior year?

Short Essay Questions

1. What major discovery is described in the Prologue as having led to widespread media coverage focused on the Nickel Academy?

2. Describe Elwood's family, as it is presented in Chapters 1 through 3.

3. For what purpose does Whitehead allude to Life magazine within Chapter 2?

4. For what reason was Elwood unable to get a full night's sleep the day of his arrival at Nickel?

5. What does the industrial fan within Chapter 6 symbolize and with what theme does Whitehead connect the fan?

6. Who or what was Black Beauty within the twisted world of Nickel?

7. How many boys were incarcerated at Nickel at the time of Elwood's arrival and in what way was the campus divided into two?

8. Who was Elwood and what event prompted him to need to return to Nickel?

9. How did Elwood turn the nasty trick played by the Richmond Hotel staff into a boon?

10. How does Whitehead use personification to depict the way that Harriet tried not to get her hopes up about the progress the black community might make in the wake of the Brown vs. Board of Education decision?

(see the answer keys)

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