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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. At the start of Chapter 9, TALK TO ME, what does Ma cut her fingertip on?
(a) A piece of glass.
(b) The edge of a soup can.
(c) A broken beer bottle.
(d) A metal toy.

2. Why are grocery stores and banks closed when Ma takes her sons to run errands?
(a) because it is Sunday.
(b) Because it is the middle of the night.
(c) Because it is a holiday.
(d) Because they closed down before the family arrives.

3. In the opening of Chapter 2, NEVER-NEVER TIME, why are the brothers wearing raincoats?
(a) Because they spray water on each other as a game.
(b) Because Ma will not let them take the raincoats off.
(c) Because they are smashing tomatoes in the kitchen and the guts will ruin their clothes.
(d) Because there are leaks all over the house, and they may get wet.

4. On the last page of Chapter 11, NIGHT WATCH, what is Paps sad/worried about?
(a) Whether Ma will leave him.
(b) That the family will not be able to pay rent.
(c) Whether the brothers will have to go live with their grandparents.
(d) That the family, and more importantly, the brothers will never escape this difficult life.

5. Why is Chapter 6 called US PROPER?
(a) Because the drugstore clerk asks the brothers to behave properly.
(b) Because Paps spanks the brothers and tells them to behave properly.
(c) Because the pregnant woman asks the brothers if they know how to be proper.
(d) Because Ma asks the brothers to be proper and stop playing games.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Ma break after seeing her face all bruised and swollen in the mirror?

2. How does Ma respond when Manny asks worriedly if Paps is having a heart attack in Chapter 9, TALK TO ME?

3. Why is Ma worried about the brothers' bath in Chapter 10, YOU BETTER COME?

4. What metaphor does the narrator use at the end of Page 27 about the pregnant woman's response to the brothers?

5. What do Paps and Ma do in the bathroom as described on Page 48?

Short Essay Questions

1. As the brothers hid in the bathtub, Paps and Ma pretend to not know and do not immediately come to find them. What deep fears does the narrator share about this lack of attention?

2. What personality traits and behaviors are both implicitly and explicitly conveyed through the description of the brothers' behaviors in the opening Chapters? How do you come to these conclusions?

3. After Ma asks the brothers if they think it is funny when men beat women, the narrator retreats to a window and looks into he sun and says, "I could not blind myself" (16). How does this statement contribute to the nature of the narrator's desires?

4. Why is the narrator confused when Ma asks him why he is unable to swim in Chapter 5, LAKE?

5. How do you know that the novel is being written in first-person?

6. What are some examples at the start of Chapter 12, BIG-DICK TRUCK that demonstrate the financial situation of the narrator's family?

7. How come Ma does not answer Paps' phone calls in Chapter 9, TALK TO ME?

8. What metaphorical significance can be determined by the fact that Ma and the narrator cannot swim and hang on to Paps in order to stay afloat?

9. At the start of Chapter 10, YOU BETTER COME, how does Paps show an expression of regret when he returns to the family's home?

10. Why does Ma not want the narrator to get older like his other brothers?

(see the answer keys)

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