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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. After the battle, what does Omi do to the narrator?

2. When the war begins, what does the country become?

3. What does the narrator do to celebrate his admiration for the female magician?

4. How does the narrator feel about Omi after meeting him alone in the schoolyard?

5. For what does the narrator look when seeking men to be attracted to?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does the prince in the Hungarian fairy tale upset the narrator?

2. What attracts the narrator to soldiers as a youth?

3. How is the grandmother affected when the narrator moves in with his father?

4. Why is the narrator's opportunity to live with his father cut short?

5. Why is the narrator unable to participate in gym class the day that Omi demonstrates how to use the bars?

6. When the other boys are impressed with the narrator's crass remarks about sex, how does the narrator feel?

7. What is the reaction of his family when the narrator dresses up as the magician, Tenkatsu?

8. How does the narrator feel about the prospect of grabbing Omi during a game of Dirty?

9. After witnessing Omi perform on the gym bars, why does the narrator decide he is no longer in love with him?

10. Who was Sebastian of Reni's "Saint Sebastian"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The narrator is surrounded by feminine influence, yet certain social cues teach him how a boy "should" act.

1) Who provides the narrator with these social cues?

2) What does the narrator do to act out his gender expectations?

3) In what ways does the narrator struggle against his gender identity?

Essay Topic 2

The narrator spends much of his early life fantasizing about blood, death, and gore. Because of the war, the narrator is confronted with the reality of this world. Instead of being excited, as the narrator expected he would be, he is repulsed. Examine the dichotomy in the narrator's opinions towards violence.

Essay Topic 3

The picture of Joan of Arc fascinates the narrator in one of his earlier memories. Upon learning the knight in the photograph is a woman, the narrator loses interest in it. Why?

(see the answer keys)

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