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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. On what day of Elwood's incarceration at Nickel does he meet Turner?

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. In what part of Elwood's body did he receive a punch from Black Mike at the scene of Elwood's intervention in the middle of a fight?

4. How much of the Florida government's publishing was done on Nickel property at the time of Elwood's arrival?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What examples does the narrator use to back up the claim that Harriet was rarely able to "make proper goodbyes to her loved ones" (70)?

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

4. In what way does Whitehead intertwine the motif of dreams with the theme of escape within Chapter 7?

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

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

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

8. For what purpose does Whitehead allude to The Andy Griffith Show in Chapter 7?

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

10. Who was Mr. Hill?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose an object from The Nickel Boys, such as the strap, the record album containing Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speeches, or some other symbolic object and discuss its overall meaning and its connection to themes within the text.

Essay Topic 2

What ultimate message is Whitehead sending about the nature and value of compassion?

Essay Topic 3

How do the themes of deception and secrecy function within The Nickel Boys and what is Whitehead’s message regarding these themes?

(see the answer keys)

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