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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. How did the barman get his scars?

2. On page 175, what does the "Diamonds" narrator say appeals to him about Siobhán Maher?

3. What was Dympna's reaction to Arm sleeping with three of his seven sisters?

4. What does Dympna do for a living?

5. On page 171, the "Diamonds" narrator describes his "long, hortatory riffs." What would these be?

Short Essay Questions

1. What motives for helping him does the narrator of "Diamonds" ascribe to his former principal?

2. What does Arm tell Hector he wants from Maire, and why does he want it?

3. What is Rebecca's opinion of Arm after their conversation at Quillinan's?

4. Why does the narrator of "Diamonds" need to rely on his former school principal once he is in Glanbeigh?

5. In the years since their band broke up, how have Eli and Doran's lives differed?

6. What evidence is there that the narrator in "Diamonds" is determined to overcome his alcohol abuse?

7. What made Eli and Maryanne's marriage a disaster?

8. What is Arm's attitude toward his son?

9. What does Paudi do to Dympna, and what is Arm's reaction?

10. What does Arm think, in retrospect, about the events at the uncles' farm?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In interviews, Colin Barrett has said that it is important to him to portray his small-town characters as fully realized, complex human beings just as characters from more cosmopolitan backgrounds are generally portrayed. Has he succeeded? Write an essay that evaluates the anthology's depiction of small-town characters against this standard. Use evidence from at least four of the stories to support your claims.

Essay Topic 2

In "The Moon," Martina seems scornful toward the town where she was raised and the people who have chosen to remain there. This sentiment is expressed by "leavers" and outsiders in several stories in Young Skins. Do the stories offer any counterclaims from the perspectives of the small-town inhabitants, or do the stories leave this perspective unchallenged? Write an essay that makes and defends a claim about what the stories seem to be saying about the value of staying in an environment like Glanbeigh. Use evidence from "The Moon" and at least two other stories to support your ideas.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay that affirms, refutes, or qualifies the following statement: "Young Skins identifies college as a gatekeeping institution that undermines the Irish value of egalitarianism." Use textual evidence from at least two stories in the anthology to support your claims.

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