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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. According to Miller, another necessary characteristic of God's love that is required in father-son love is the ability to do what?

2. How does Miller grasp the "God as father" concept, initially?

3. In Chapter 4, as Miller thinks about his pain as child without a father, what happens to him?

4. Miller's stories in Chapter 1 seem to highlight what emotions from his childhood?

5. The message of this book is presented by the author with a strong bias for which he does not do what?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

2. How does Miller get to Boring, Oregon?

3. In Chapter 5, what does Miller describe as crucial tasks of families?

4. In Chapter 5, Miller begins to identify the positive and negative characteristics of God's love. What are these characteristics?

5. The author introduces the concept of a spiritual journey in Chapter 4. Describe Miller's reaction to this spiritual journey.

6. 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?

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

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

9. How does Miller meet John MacMurray and what roles do John MacMurray and his family play in Miller's life?

10. Miller suggests that as a child he was attracted to stories about dwarfs and dragons. In particular, he wanted to own and ride a dragon. He believes that the dragon took on the role of a father figure. What characteristics of the dragon do you believe remind him of a father figure?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

You have finished the book. Evaluate the author's ability to present his message, effectively or not, to the reader. What techniques does the author use to present his message and himself? What are the strengths of this method of memoir writing? What are the limitations of this approach to memoir writing? Does the author have biases in the book? What worked for you as you read this book? What did not? Use examples from the book to support your opinion.

Essay Topic 2

Miller writes about his faith journey as one of the focus for this book. He describes multiple aspects of this search in finding a relationship with God; thus, faith becomes a major theme in this book. What does Miller equate his faith journey with in this book? Why or how does he do this? Do you agree with his approach to use faith as a analogy? If not, what would you do differently with this focus?

Essay Topic 3

Miller's mother dies without telling him who his father is. There are many reasons why women would chose not to tell their children about how they were conceived or who their fathers were. Identify and discuss the reasons Miller's mother may have decided not to tell him who his father is. Discuss potential impact each reason may have had on Miller.

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