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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 effect do death and blood have on the narrator during puberty?

2. In the essay his later self deems as false, what does the narrator trick himself into believing?

3. What is the objective of the graphic game the boys play with each other?

4. In what city was the narrator born?

5. After Omi is expelled, the narrator dreams of doing what to a classmate?

Short Essay Questions

1. What impression is left by the narrator's memory of a night-soil man?

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

3. Why does the narrator feel he has cheated his way through life?

4. What sickness does the narrator suffer from and how does it affect him?

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

6. Describe the narrator's fantasy perception of Omi.

7. When Omi and the narrator lock eyes during a game of "King of the Hill," what does the narrator imagine has taken place?

8. Why does the narrator begin drinking and smoking?

9. Why does the narrator believe that his lack of interest in women may have to do with laziness?

10. Why does the narrator choose not to volunteer as a special cadet?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Upon reaching puberty, the narrator discovers a connection between sex and violence.

1) What was the narrator's relationship with violence prior to puberty?

2) Why does this obsession act itself out in a sexual fashion?

3) How do these desires affect the narrator?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

The imagery and metaphor of masks appear throughout the novel. Choose three examples of this type of imagery from the text and analyze its purpose in the story.

(see the answer keys)

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