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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What book does Gina read obsessively during her pregnancy?
(a) Alice in Wonderland.
(b) Willy Wonka and the Glass Elevator.
(c) Dr. Spock.
(d) The Secret Garden.

2. What year did Michael take a photograph of Gina and Wanda in the bowling alley that he liked so much he ordered two prints?
(a) 1980.
(b) 1985.
(c) 1970.
(d) 1975.

3. Why does Michael begin taking Wanda to work with him?
(a) She wants to be with her father.
(b) She needs extra help with learning to speak.
(c) She is lonely at home.
(d) She broke her arm.

4. In chapter 22, what does Striker see across the street as he walks to Aloha Lanes?
(a) A dog scrounging for food.
(b) A child looking for his mother.
(c) A woman crying.
(d) A couple arguing.

5. What makes Aloha Lanes unique in the Greenwood Avenue neighborhood where it stands?
(a) It is the only bowling alley.
(b) It is a Hawaiian-themed bowling alley.
(c) It is the last independently owned bowling alley.
(d) It is a league only bowling alley.

Short Answer Questions

1. What were Irma and her daughter doing the day the Germans came and took them away?

2. What does Striker read on Easter Sunday?

3. What color hair does Irma Kominsky have?

4. What type of jewelry does Striker notice Rudy wearing at the their initial meeting?

5. What does Striker hear as he continues to walk to Aloha Lanes at the end of chapter 22?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Wanda's knowledge of her parents' relationship compare with what Striker has revealed to the reader in part two of the novel?

2. How does Striker feel about religion, as the reader learns in chapter 21?

3. What car accident does Striker witness in chapter 22? How is this ironic?

4. What odd behaviors on the part of Gina Lorenzini does Michael O'Casey overlook due to his amorous feelings for her?

5. How does Striker celebrate Easter in chapter 22?

6. What picture does Striker have of his wife and how does this connect him with Wanda Schultz?

7. Why does Michael leave his daughter and go in search of his missing wife in chapter 19?

8. Why does Gina become pregnant soon after marrying Michael even though she has told him she does not wish to have children?

9. How do the Hawaiian shirts becomes something of a symbol between Striker and Irma in chapter 21?

10. How does the author draw parallels between Striker and Irma concerning their painful pasts?

(see the answer keys)

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