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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 does Raphael say is the meaning of the word "stuppa" (3)?

2. What color of plastic fetches the best prices, according to Raphael?

3. What term does Raphael apply to Gordo while introducing him to the reader?

4. What does Father Juilliard say he has given Rat, though he has never seen Rat wear it?

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. List three physical changes that occur within Raphael's body as a result of his terror at being hauled away from his house by the police.

2. When Raphael is finally released from the police station, why does he laugh as he walks home?

3. What had Father Juilliard's original intentions been with regard to the Pascal Aguila Mission School and how had those intentions changed later?

4. Which of the three boys is chosen to open the train station locker with the key from inside the found leather bag and why?

5. What reasons does Gardo give for wanting to be patient and putting off their visit to the train station to check out what is inside the locker?

6. What are three cases that Pascal Aguila took on and won during his career?

7. Besides the cash, what item inside the leather bag convinces Rat that Jose Angelico, the purported owner of the bag, is a wealthy man?

8. What does Grace say about where she imagines Pia Dante is now?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

At many points within the narrative, the boys are close to giving up on solving the mystery due to the inherent dangers associated with the fact-finding, but they never do give up. Choose three of these moments, discuss the boys' motivations to keep going, and analyze these instances within the context of the author's message about hope, optimism, and justice.

Essay Topic 2

Trace the characterization arc of Raphael's character throughout the novel. Discuss whether he is a round or flat character and whether he is a static or dynamic character. Use concrete details to support your claims.

Essay Topic 3

Though the reader may expect that the end of the novel will end in a realistic and probably bleak way in order to reflect the realities of children mired in poverty and exploitation, the author chooses instead to depict a neatly tied-up and happy ending for the boys. Explain the author's purpose in attaching a happy ending to a wholly bleak yet realistic portrayal of the misery in which some children live in the twenty-first century. Include concrete details from the novel to support your points.

(see the answer keys)

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