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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 time of day does Tommy remember he caught a lobster?

2. What expression is on the girl's face when Tommy returns with the items she wants to buy?

3. What does the girl want to buy who comes into the store?

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

5. Where does the girl live who comes into the candy store to buy something?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Accumulation is a literary device that allows an author to gather scattered ideas in a literary work and gradually build on information readers need to know. From whose perspective is The Prison told? How does Malamud use accumulation to advance the plot and provide readers with important details about Tommy and his life?

Essay Topic 2

Mood is an element that authors use to evoke feelings in readers through the use of descriptive language. Mood is the overall feeling that readers have when reading a story. What is the overall mood of The Prison?

Essay Topic 3

Setting is the place and time where a narrative takes place. What is the setting in The Prison? How does the setting evoke feelings or set the mood in the story?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 764 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample