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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. Where does Gunnar's father work?

2. Why does Gunnar's mother decide they need to move?

3. How does Gunnar feel about organized basketball?

4. Why is the audience shocked by Gunnar's speech?

5. With whom did Gunnar play in Santa Monica?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Gunnar's mother tell her children about their ancestor Euripides?

2. Why does Gunnar's mother suggest her children should go to a black school?

3. Why is Psycho Loco upset when he comes to Gunnar's house in Chapter Five?

4. What does Gunnar think about his school's emphasis and what does he say contradicts the school's sensitivity?

5. How does Nick help Gunnar fit into the neighborhood better and how does Gunnar get a basketball?

6. How did the Gun Totin' Hooligans come to be a gang?

7. Who is Eileen Litmus, for what is she known at school and how does she affect Gunnar's life at school?

8. What does Gunnar do when he returns to class following his health examination?

9. What is at the top of the hill from Gunnar's neighborhood?

10. Where does Gunnar's father work, what does he do and what does Gunnar notice when he visits his father at work?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Setting as far as place and time play an important role in The White Boy Shuffle. Discuss the following:

1. Compare/contrast several aspects of the setting of that time, 1992 from how it would be today. Consider things such as cultural norms/expectations, technology, religion and medicine.

2. Do you think The White Boy Shuffle would be different if it were set in Europe? Consider the cultural differences as you discuss the way the story would change is set in the Europe.

3. Discuss some of the differences between the Los Angeles and Boston, as far as the relationship between blacks and whites. What are some similarities?

Essay Topic 2

One night after leaving a dance club, the guys talk about police harassment they have endured and they discuss the possible outcomes of the upcoming trial for the police officers caught on film beating a black motorist named Rodney King.

1. Police officers stopping minorities more often than whites is called racial profiling. What measures do you think should be taken to prevent racial profiling? Discuss your opinion in depth using examples from The White Boy Shuffle and your own life.

2. What would you do if you were Gunnar and stopped by the police for no reason? Discuss your options in depth.

3. Do you think that a suit and college education stops racism? Why or why not? Discuss your opinion in depth using examples from The White Boy Shuffle and your own life.

Essay Topic 3

Choose one of the following to discuss:

1. Choose two significant symbols and trace and analyze their appearance in The White Boy Shuffle. Are these universal symbols? Would they be understood in any culture? Are there other symbols that would portray the same idea? What are they? Why do you think Beatty chooses the symbols he does? Do you think Beatty consciously decides upon the symbols to represent various elements of The White Boy Shuffle? Why or why not.

2. Choose two important metaphors and trace and analyze their appearance in The White Boy Shuffle. Are these universal metaphors? Would they be understood in any culture? Are there other metaphors that would portray the same idea? What are they? Why do you think Beatty chooses the metaphors he does?

3. Discuss Beatty's use (or lack ) of literary device (such as foreshadowing, clifthangers, deux ex machina, etc...), and how they add or detract from the story. Does Beatty use too many or too little literary techniques? State to which of the five major elements of fiction the literary device is related (style, character, plot, setting, theme).

(see the answer keys)

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