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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 is the word people in the area use to demonstrate respect for their elders when addressing them?

2. From what material is the Mission School made?

3. How old is Father Juilliard?

4. How many basketball courts does Raphael estimate the dumpsite to be in area?

5. After Raphael decides not to tell the police about the leather bag quite yet, who tells the police about his find instead?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is different about the day the police come to orchestrate the search for the leather bag, versus a normal day within the dumpsite?

2. Why do Raphael and Gardo continue working nonchalantly after they find the leather bag full of money?

3. What is a "special" (18) and how does the idea of a "special" widen the scope of the reader's understanding of Trash's setting?

4. How does Raphael know that the police do not know that there was a key among the items inside the leather bag for which they are searching?

5. When Raphael says that he and Gardo might as well be brothers, what evidence does he give to support this conclusion?

6. What does Raphael say is the reason for Jose Angelico's arrest?

7. Describe the scene in which Raphael is taken from his home and is forced into the police car.

8. What is the main point of Grace's piece of narration from the story?

9. Why do the boys jump off of the train before it pulls into the station?

10. Describe Raphael's house in Behala.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In so-called Developed countries, there is often a counter-cultural drive to move away from materialism and to focus on what 'really' matters. However, Raphael's loving descriptions of his few possessions and Rat's dreams of making his living by buying a fishing boat instead highlight the importance of owning certain objects and the ways in which we require at least a few material possessions in order to help define our identities. Discuss the conflict between these two points of view concerning materialism, drawing on examples from the novel to prove your claim.

Essay Topic 2

The theme of power is one that comes up often within the novel's narrative, particularly in relation to dumpsite boys' feelings of powerlessness and their realizations about the enormous power that the government wields recklessly. Choose three instances when power is wielded by a particular character or organization within the novel. Discuss how these instances help to shape the author's message regarding power.

Essay Topic 3

A great number of Trash's narrators refer to the subject of trust at different points within the novel. Trace these mentions, explain each instance's circumstances, and discuss the overall message the author sends about the subject of trust. Include concrete details from the novel to support your points.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,093 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample