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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. Why does Old Man compare the brothers to locusts?
(a) Because locusts are ugly like the boys.
(b) Because they are both in his garden.
(c) Because they will quickly fly away back to their house.
(d) Because they are damaging his garden.

2. How does Ma feel about the phone ringing in Chapter 9, TALK TO ME?
(a) She shows no emotion.
(b) Happy.
(c) Annoyed.
(d) Scared.

3. What does the narrator hope Paps and Ma will do after the brothers' hide from them in Chapter 10, YOU BETTER COME?
(a) Dance around the bathroom and never find the brothers.
(b) Leave the bathroom and never fight again.
(c) Find the brothers and embrace them.
(d) Paps will kiss Ma and then hug the brothers.

4. What does the word "rappel" most likely mean on Page 25?
(a) "Assimilate."
(b) "Ascend."
(c) "Descend."
(d) "Rise."

5. Where has Ma seen the "most water she ever saw in one place" (19)?
(a) In Brooklyn after it rained and puddles gathered on the sides of the street.
(b) In California in giant public swimming pools, where she swam in the summer.
(c) In upstate New York after the snow melted.
(d) In Brooklyn when men opened a johnny pump and water rushed forth.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why do the brothers run their fingers around the empty bowls in Chapter 9, TALK TO ME?

2. Where is Lina from?

3. How does the narrator know that Ma is delighted when Paps returns at the start of Chapter 10, YOU BETTER COME?

4. When Paps and the brothers return home from Paps' job in Chapter 11, NIGHT WATCH, what are they shouting?

5. In the last paragraph of Chapter 10, YOU BETTER COME, what does the narrator imply the brothers "need" (51)?

Short Essay Questions

1. Even though it is not explicitly mentioned in the novel, how does the author convey that Ma has been abused by Paps in Chapter 4?

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

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. What may the Quote provided before the Title Page relate to you about a theme or important motif of the novel?

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

6. 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?

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

8. 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?

9. Why may Ma choose to call the narrator's family's new vehicle, "Big-Dick Truck"?

10. At the end of Chapter 10, NIGHT WATCH, Paps says,"We're never going to escape this...Never" (60). What is he sure the narrator's family will not escape?

(see the answer keys)

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