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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. The end of the Prologue introduces Elwood the Nickel Boy in what way?
(a) He was called Elwood Curtis.
(b) He went by the name of Elwood Curtis.
(c) His name was Elwood Curtis.
(d) He liked to be called Elwood Curtis.

2. How many desks had been squeezed into Elwood and Desmond's homeroom at Nickel?
(a) 40.
(b) 50.
(c) 30.
(d) 100.

3. Former Nickel Boys are said in the Prologue to have organized support groups in "recent years" (5) in order to reassemble their memories into "confirmation of a shared" (5) what?
(a) Unity.
(b) Past.
(c) Darkness.
(d) Haunting.

4. What machine was used to mask the screams of the boys as they were punished within the White House?
(a) A generator.
(b) A fan.
(c) A heater.
(d) A tennis ball launcher.

5. While the black inmates of Nickel called the building used for whippings "the White House," who called the building "the Ice Cream Factory" (66)?
(a) The housemen of Nickel.
(b) Spencer.
(c) The white inmates of Nickel.
(d) The cooks of Nickel.

Short Answer Questions

1. How old was Elwood when both of his parents "took off" (27) and left him in the care of his grandmother Harriet?

2. Boys punished within the White House were ordered to lie down on a blood-stained mattress and to hold onto what object?

3. Which character was NOT a part of the group of the three most fearsome boys at Nickel?

4. Elwood was shocked to find that "most of the Nickel boys couldn't" (59) take what action?

5. Though Mr. Marconi had already carried black magazines in his shop, Elwood got him to order what other items tailored to the black community's needs?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who was Mr. Hill?

2. In what way was Elwood's family history intertwined with the Richmond Hotel in Tallahassee?

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

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

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

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

7. What happened to prevent Elwood from attending his first class at Marvin Griggs Technical?

8. 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?

9. What Christmas present did Elwood receive in 1962 that the narrator described as "the best gift of his life" (11)?

10. In what way does the theme of collectivism arise within the Prologue of The Nickel Boys?

(see the answer keys)

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