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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 the person Swede calls after he has seen Merry in Chapter 6 tell him to do in regard to Merry?

2. What does Marcia say that without transgression there is none of in Chapter 8?

3. Whom does Swede decide to call at the end of Chapter 6 to talk about Merry?

4. What did Lou often blame for Merry's bad behavior in addition to her mother?

5. How far had Merry had been working from Swede's glove factory when Rita contacts him in Chapter 5?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Bill Orcutt described in Chapter 7?

2. What reason does Swede say is the only reason Dawn entered beauty pageants?

3. How does Swede suggest that the Miss New Jersey pageant ruined Dawn?

4. How does Merry live as a Jain?

5. What is the nature of Lou's discussion regarding the downfall of Newark in Chapter 8?

6. What does Lou say he is ashamed of Jerry for in Chapter 7?

7. How does Swede describe the time during the riots with his employee Vicky?

8. Why did Dawn choose to raise cattle according to the narrator?

9. How are Merry's values as a Jain described in the book?

10. How does Swede describe Bill and Dawn in the end of Chapter 8?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast Jerry and Swede. What is significant about the personality and moral differences in these two characters?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the character Merry. What is telling about the true nature of Merry based on her non-conformist choices like being militant or becoming a Jain?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the portrayal of the Jewish neighborhood in the book. What importance did this culture have in Nathan and Swede's upbringing and future?

(see the answer keys)

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