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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 Ma compare to the boys' faces being messy in Chapter 2, NEVER-NEVER TIME?

2. Whys is Ma upset that Paps gets a new truck for the family?

3. What does Paps do to try and convey to his sons their heritage?

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

5. What does Paps do when Ma yells at him, "This fucking big-dick truck" (64)?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

2. How does the reader know that Ma was a naive teenager when it came to sex as explained in Chapter 6, US PROPER?

3. How does the narrator feel when Paps and Ma discover him after the narrator nearly drowns in the lake?

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

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

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

7. Why do the brothers dig up Old Man's garden?

8. How does the narrator differentiate the brothers' behavior in relation to when Ma is awake or asleep?

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. 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?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Chapter 3, HERITAGE, Paps explains that the brothers are not Puerto Rican, white, or rich, but asks them to individually dance as if they belong to one of these cultural/racial/socioeconomic statuses. Why does Paps want the brothers to imitate all three types of heritage groups? What does Paps believe each group embodies by the way the brothers dance?

Essay Topic 2

The narrator displays conflict about watching the pornographic video, his background with the notion of sexuality, and how the two are connected and also contrasted. Analyze the author's choice to intertwine these emotions that the narrator has.

Essay Topic 3

The final Chapter, ZOOKEEPING is only one page long, but it is still one of the most moving. The narrator's perception of reality are ambiguous and scattered. Review the final chapter for clues about the mental state of the narrator. Summarize how the chapter provides closure, even though it is not explicitly written. How does the writing of the final chapter shift from previous chapters? What does the last line of the chapter represent about how the narrator is handling his situation in the psychiatric ward?

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