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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 Will tell Rachel in Chapter 28?

2. Where does Marcus refuse to go in Chapter 31?

3. Why does Will feel guilty in Chapter 30?

4. Why does Will feel he cannot help Fiona?

5. Why is Ellie called to the headmistress' office in Chapter 21?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who argues in Chapter 23?

2. What do Will and Fiona discuss in Chapter 32?

3. What does Will confess to Rachel in Chapter 28?

4. What shocks Marcus' classmates in Chapter 21?

5. Why does Marcus try to keep Ellie from reading the papers in Chapter 31?

6. What happens outside a news agent in Chapter 27?

7. Why does Marcus become angry at Ellie in Chapter 29?

8. Who is Ellie? What do Ellie and Marcus talk about in Chapter 19?

9. What do Ellie and Marcus talk about at the party in Chapter 25?

10. How do Ellie and Zoe react in Chapter 21 when Marcus tells them that he knows Ellie was lying to him before?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Hornby's use of foreshadowing. What are some examples of foreshadowing in the novel? Why does Hornby use foreshadowing?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the motif of family in the novel "About a Boy". Describe both Marcus' and Will's family. Is family important to Marcus? What does Marcus realize about family by the end of the novel? Why is this realization important for his character?

Essay Topic 3

Describe Marcus' relationships with his parents. Does he have good relationships with them? Why or why not? How do his relationships with his parents evolve as the novel progresses?

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