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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 Angela bring Frank in the hospital?

2. How do the McCourts get back to Angela's family?

3. What is Paddy's dream?

4. What does Grandpa McCourt send for the new baby?

5. Why does Angela believe that Frank was not accepted as an altar boy?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Frank feel sorry for the Spellacies in Chapter 7?

2. Why does the man at the IRA office refuse Malachy and his family bus fare home in Chapter 2?

3. Describe your first impression of Angela's mother in Chapter 2. What kind of woman does she appear to be?

4. Frank is hospitalized again in Chapter 9. What might this tell you about his overall health, and what might be the cause of it?

5. Consider the image of Malachy placing a pint of beer on Eugene's coffin in Chapter 2. What does this image represent to you? What does it mean?

6. Describe Paddy Clohessy's life as seen in Chapter 4. Do you think he is better or worse off than Frank?

7. In Chapter 7, Frank gets and loses two jobs. Reflect on what this shows about the stability of his life.

8. In Chapter 2, why do you think the officials at the St. Vincent de Paul Society are hesitant to help the McCourts?

9. Grandpa McCourt sends the family money in Chapter 7, and Malachy spends it on alcohol. Why is this particular act more despicable than Malachy's others?

10. In Chapter 9, Mr. Downes tells Angela that Malachy is drinking away all of the money in London. Why do you think this is so shameful to the family?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Frank spends much of the book planning his trip to America, and wondering why his parents had left America to return to Ireland in the first place.

Part 1) Consider the idealism Frank feels towards America. Based on his parents' experiences there and their experiences in Ireland, is his idealistic view of America warranted?

Part 2) Compare and contrast the struggles felt by the McCourts in the beginning of the book with the struggles felt by them once they reach Ireland. Is one place more responsible for their difficulties than another? Cite several examples from the book to support your argument.

Essay Topic 2

Frank's family leaves America for Ireland at the beginning of the book, but Frank spends most of the book dreaming about going to America. Discuss the irony in this, and the journey required of Frank in order to leave Ireland and go to America.

Essay Topic 3

Based on what you have read in the book, compare and contrast the roles of women and men in Ireland during the Great Depression.

(see the answer keys)

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