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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. As a child, Miller remembers hearing fairy tales about which animals?

2. What kind of class does Miller attend at church in Oregon?

3. What is the reason that Miller gives for failing to find positive male influences in his life?

4. Chapter 1 emphasizes what difficulties for boys who grow up without fathers?

5. What does Miller describe God's love for humans as?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapters 5 and 6, Miller makes a connection between authority and love. Describe this connection.

2. The author's writing style should appeal to whom?

3. According to the information in the prologue, who is the intended audience for this book?

4. What does Miller learn about family from living with the MacMurray family?

5. In Chapter 6, Authority, Miller uses a metaphor of airline pilots warning each other about weather conditions. What point is Miller illustrating with this story?

6. What role does church play in Miller's life and why does he join a church in Boring, Oregon?

7. Miller presents statistics about the percentage of males in prison raised without a father. He suggests there is a connection between these statistics and the orphaned elephants. What is this connection?

8. Miller's mother attempts to find father figures for her son in several places. Describe Miller's mother's efforts. How successful were these efforts?

9. In Chapter 3, Miller admits to being resentful towards authority figures. To whom is he referring and why?

10. Miller identifies several areas in his life affected by not having a father. What are these areas?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Much of this book is about the author's search for a perfect family and perfect father-son experience to help him learn how be a member of a family. As you finish reading this book, reflect on what does the author suggest are the characteristics of a perfect family. Identify the characteristics that the author identifies throughout the book. Provide supporting evidence from the book. Do you believe there is such a thing as a perfect family? What does today's perfect family look like? How is today's perfect family similar to and different from Miller's ideal family?

Essay Topic 2

In Chapter 11, work ethic is examined. However, the author does not provide a definition of work ethic. Instead, he describes several work ethics characteristics.

a. Identify the characteristics that Miller indicates are parts of a work ethics. How did apply them to himself? Do you agree or not with the characteristics that he identified? What characteristics of a good work ethic did he not address?

b. Miller connects his understanding of work ethics of humans as a spiritual responsibility. How does he do this? Do you agree or not with his explanation of work ethics as spiritual responsibility?

c. In addition, there are many other critical characteristics of a good work ethic. What characteristics did he not address that he should address? Do these additional characteristics contribute to his comparison of work ethics to a faith based explanation?

Essay Topic 3

Miller ends the book with a return to a spiritual focus on faith and hope. What does he say he has learned about faith, hope, and a spiritual relationship?

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