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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 emotion does Swen inspire in the people around him?

2. What is Gunnar's mother tired of seeing her children do all the time?

3. What does Gunnar tell a girl about the eye chart?

4. How does Gunnar feel about organized basketball?

5. What seems to happen whenever Gunnar tries to make friends?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do Gunnar and his sisters get along with the other children in the neighborhood?

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

3. What do police officers in Gunnar's new neighborhood ask him and what is his response?

4. What does Psycho do to get Gunnar to dance and how does their time at dances often end?

5. With what coach does Gunnar develop a relationship and how did the coach learn to play his sport?

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

7. What kind of work does Ludwig do and what may he unintentionally have done?

8. What happens when Gunnar meets Nick and some of Nick's friends for lunch?

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

10. Where does Gunnar go to avoid beatings, what does he do there and how does he still get beat?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Characters are an important part of what makes The White Boy Shuffle interesting. Discuss the following:

1. Thoroughly discuss and analyze Gunnar. What are his strengths? His weaknesses? How does he contribute to the plot? Is he a sympathetic character? Is he always likable? Never likable? Use specific examples to illustrate your ideas.

2. Thoroughly discuss and analyze the character of Psycho Loco. What are his strengths? His weaknesses? How does he contribute to the plot? Is he a sympathetic character? Is he ever likable? Never likable? Use specific examples to illustrate your ideas.

3. Thoroughly discuss and analyze the character of Nick. What are his strengths? His weaknesses? How does he contribute to the plot? Is he a sympathetic character? Is he ever likable? Never likable? Use specific examples to illustrate your ideas.

Essay Topic 3

Gunnar is momentarily angered that Nick and the man are talking about Gunnar's poetry, but thinking of his poetry at a time when he is so upset makes Gunnar realize that his poetry serves the same function as Psycho Loco's violence. Gunnar uses poetry to help him cope with external events, and Psycho Loco uses violence for the same reason.

1. How do you think poetry helps Gunnar cope with external events? Use examples from The White Boy Shuffle and your own life to support your answer.

2. How do you think violence helps Psycho Loco cope with external events? Use examples from The White Boy Shuffle and your own life to support your answer.

3. Discuss how two such different activities as writing poetry and committing violence could serve the same function. Use examples from The White Boy Shuffle and your own life to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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