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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 wear for the family's first drive in the truck?

2. What does the narrator believe Paps is really doing when he punishes his sons?

3. Why do the brothers have to get up quickly and leave Paps' work in Chapter 11, NIGHT WATCH?

4. At the start of the novel, how many boys, also brothers, are introduced?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. What kind of support does Lina provide to the narrator's family when she comes to visit?

5. 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?

6. 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?

7. How does Paps coerce Ma into not being so irate about about the new truck?

8. 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?

9. 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?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

At the end of Chapter 9, TALK TO ME, the narrator and Joel impersonate a phone call between Paps and Ma that begins argumentative but ends in what could be considered rather contrasting reactions, either despairing or hopeful depending your viewpoint. What do Joel's final statements symbolize about family life and the future?

Essay Topic 2

In Chapter 16, WASN'T NO ONE TO STOP THIS, the narrator is irritated by Manny's unceasing mention of God. The narrator is annoyed that Manny acts as if he deeply understands, but the narrator questions Manny's awareness. How does Manny justify his knowledge of God? What are some examples that justify Manny's intuitions about God?

Essay Topic 3

When Paps purchases a new and rather pigheaded truck for the family, Ma is furious with his decision. In Chapter 12, BIG -DICK TRUCK, there are many reasons that she brings forth to justify her position, but beyond her words, her overall attitude and behaviors also contribute to how she is perceived as feeling. How does Ma's reaction further give insight to her relation with Paps? What does Paps behavior about the incident allow his character to become more complex and versatile?

(see the answer keys)

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