View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What causes one boy in Rickey's gang to get shot accidentally in the arm?

2. What is Pharoah's latest interest?

3. What is Lafeyette beginning to look like at the age of thriteen?

4. During the party, what does Dawn come running in to warn about?

5. A week after Craig's funeral, what weather condition takes place?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the projects like in the winter?

2. What is the special fear of Pharoah?

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

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

5. Describe Lafeyette's brush with the law that gets him arrested.

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

7. What is the unfortunate coincidence involving Craig Davis and the police?

8. Why is Lafeyette put in charge of the children and what is his behavior like?

9. Describe the shooting of Craig Davis.

10. How does the judge make LaJoe feel after Lafeyette's hearing?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay on the subject of "Living in Fear." Beginning with the constant shootings and murders in the Chicago projects, expand that subject to other examples of people living in fear. Write about living in fear in ones own family because of an abusive family member. Also include examples like countries where genocide is a common practice and people of certain ethnic or tribal identities are in constant fear of being slaughtered.

Essay Topic 3

Write a paper on the value of hope in life. Explain why it is important for people to believe figuratively in the gold and leprechauns at the end of the rainbow. What is the value of life without hope? Do you see it as logical that people who have no hope also have no sense of moral responsibility?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 968 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample