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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. What type of day is Tommy having when a young girl comes into the store?

2. How long was the lobster Tommy caught?

3. What does Tommy feel like doing when he sees the girl stealing?

4. What time of day does a girl come into the store?

5. What does Rosa have hanging on a back wall?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Tommy notice that the girl steals some candy bars?

2. What type of day is Tommy having when a young girl comes into the store?

3. How does Tommy compare the ten-year-old girl who comes to the store with her mother?

4. What are Tommy's thoughts when he brings the paper to the girl?

5. How is the girl different from other kids who come into the store?

6. Why did a cop tell Tommy and Uncle Dom to throw back a lobster they caught, and why did they keep the lobster?

7. What does Tommy consider doing when he sees the girl stealing?

8. What does Tommy remember catching with his uncle Dom once?

9. What does Tommy remember doing with his Uncle Dom?

10. What does a ten-year-old girl buy and why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Malamud’s short story is titled The Prison. How does the title of the short story reveal the themes of imprisonment, entrapment, and confinement?

Essay Topic 2

What readers know about events and characters in a story is determined by the point of view. What is the point of view in The Prison? How does the point of view influence what readers know about characters and events?

Essay Topic 3

Tommy’s marriage to Rosa was arranged by their parents. How and why was Tommy’s marriage arranged with Rosa?

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