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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 two girls never take no for an answer from Gunnar?

2. What do the Gun Totin' Hooligans do after Pumpkin's memorial ritual?

3. What was the original name of the Gun Totin' Hooligans?

4. How tall has Gunnar become by his first year in high school?

5. What gang members find him in the store?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What does Nick do to handle some of the attention directed at him and how does that affect Gunnar?

4. What does Gunnar reveal himself to be in the Prologue and how does he feel about his role?

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

6. What is Swen Kaufman's life story, according to Gunnar's mother?

7. With whom does Gunnar make friends during his first semester at his new school and what does he choose in his second semester schedule?

8. What happens when Gunnar is pushing his sister Nicole on the swing?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Many black people are as prejudiced against white people as the other way around.

1. Do you think Gunnar's feelings towards white people are justified?

2. Some people call the idea of minorities hating the majority "reverse prejudice." What do you think this means and do you believe it exist?

3. Discuss why it is almost inevitable that an oppressed minority would be prejudiced against their oppressors. Use examples from The White Boy Shuffle and your own life to support your response.

Essay Topic 2

There are a number of interesting questions raised by The White Boy Shuffle. Questions that Beatty most likely want readers to consider and think through carefully. Discuss the following:

1. What does the term "author agenda" mean?

2. Name one idea/concept you think may have been a part of the Beatty's agenda. Analyze that idea throughout the book and discuss Beatty's probable agenda concerning that idea.

2. Do you think writers who have an agenda for writing should point it out in a preface?

3. How often do you think fiction is written with a clear agenda in mind by the author?

4. Research the life of Paul Beatty and see if/where his life may have influenced his writing.

Essay Topic 3

It is unclear whether Gunnar realizes that Nick is serious about suicide when they talk on the beach. It is also unknown whether Gunnar would have done anything to stop it. Gunnar seems to be accepting things as inevitable. If Gunnar did not know that Nick was serious, he should have when he saw that Nick left behind his ever-present cassette player when Nick left the beach that final night.

1. Do you think suicide is a reasonable answer to a person's problems? Why or why not? Use examples from The White Boy Shuffle and your own life to support your answer.

2. Discuss the following statement: Suicide is permanent whereas most problems are not. Use examples from The White Boy Shuffle and your own life to support your answer.

3. Do you think Gunnar acted in an irresponsible way with Nick? Do you believe he had an obligation to stop Nick from committing suicide even if it meant calling the police? Why or why not? Use examples from The White Boy Shuffle and your own life to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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