View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In what year did Elwood move to New York City?

2. In what month did Elwood first move to New York City?

3. Turner told Elwood that he would acquire clothing from what source if he were to ever escape from Nickel?

4. As Clayton Smith rode with the man who had given him a ride, he imagined a posse looking for him with which character "at the head" (150)?

5. What percentage of Elwood's college fund was used to hire a lawyer to help him get sent to Nickel?

Short Essay Questions

1. What new opportunity did Elwood receive at Nickel due to Turner's recommendation?

2. The narrator begins Chapter 12 by stating that "There were four ways out of Nickel" (144). What were they?

3. What bad news did Harriet deliver to her grandson Elwood in Chapter 12 when she came for a visit after missing one due to illness?

4. What happened to the money Elwood had saved up for college?

5. At what conclusion did Elwood finally arrive when he contemplated the reason for his vicious beating in the White House?

6. What physical problem of Elwood's is described in Chapter 11?

7. How did Elwood meet Denise?

8. What annual tradition existed at Nickel that involved one white inmate and one black inmate?

9. What event caused Elwood to decide to put into motion his plan to "get rid of Nickel" (157)?

10. What "fifth way out of Nickel" (153) did Elwood devise in Chapter 12?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What techniques does Whitehead use to mislead the reader throughout the narrative of The Nickel Boys and for what purpose does he enact these instances of misdirection?

Essay Topic 2

Could The Nickel Boys be classified as a coming-of-age story? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze the interplay between the resolution of The Nickel Boys and one of the novel's main messages. How does Whitehead make connections between these elements and how does their juxtaposition help them get across one main message of the novel?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 955 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample