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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. How does LaJoe see to it that the children have a good Christmas?

2. What is different about Terrence's appearance at the trial?

3. Who is presiding over Terrence's trial for armed robbery?

4. Why do the families of the boys refuse to pay damages for the truck?

5. What are some of the problems at the Chicago Housing Authority?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the shooting of Craig Davis.

2. Describe what Pharoah sees as the boys are eating their food outside the Main Street hot dog stand.

3. Why does Terrence agree to participate in an armed robbery?

4. What is it about public defender Anne Rhodes that Lafeyette does not understand?

5. What hope is inspired in Pharoah as a result of his inclusion in the Upward Bound program at the University of Illinois?

6. When Pharoah and Porkchop go to visit Dawn, what is her condition?

7. How does LaJoe remember the day Terrence was sentenced since Terrence had requested that she not come to court that day?

8. Describe Lafeyette's frame of mind at Craig's funeral.

9. What does Rickey do that displeases LaJoe?

10. How has Lafeyette's behavior changed since Craig's funeral?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about political and criminal abuse of the poor, the uneducated, and the elderly. Explain why these people are so vulnerable to scams and oppression. Compare the scam artists who bilked LaJoe out of her deposit money for a new house to the corrupt politicians who allowed the projects to fall victim of disrepair and lawlessness. Include examples of whole political systems which allow starvation and genocide to go on among their people.

Essay Topic 2

When faced with the prospect of going to prison for a crime he did not commit, Terrence participated in an armed robbery with the attitude that he might as well commit the crime he had been accused of. Write a paper on the possibility of false imprisonment in the judicial system. Explain why it is possible and what makes it seem to happen so often.

Essay Topic 3

Write a paper on uniforms in gangs. Use Kotlowitz's description of the uniform identities of the Vice Lords. Compare that to uniforms adopted by schools, social institutions, and the military. Explain to what extent the purpose of the uniform is the same and to what extent it is different in these various organization.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,065 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample