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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. Which of the following do Piri and his friends not steal from the store?

2. What do Piri's parents argue about?

3. What is Piri reading with his friends in this section?

4. What is the name of the stud that approaches Piri and his friends?

5. What is the name of the game Piri plays with Brew?

Short Essay Questions

1. What problems does the family face in the opening section?

2. What problems does Piri face when he has to move to a new neighborhood?

3. Describe the fight between Piri and Rocky in the opening section.

4. What happens when Piri goes for a job interview in Section 4?

5. How does Piri get rid of the Jolly Roger gang members who chase him home?

6. What problems does Piri have at school in the second section?

7. How does Miss Washington help Piri in this section?

8. Describe Piri's upbringing.

9. Why does Marcia claim she cannot dance with Piri?

10. Describe Piri's job as a shoeshine boy.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why is it important for Piri to have a good reputation? What do the students think Piri's life in New York would have been like if he did not have a good reputation? Was joining a gang or group is the only way to get a good reputation as a teenager in New York?

Essay Topic 2

What did Piri experience in Harlem and how did those experiences shape his character? Would Piri have entered a life of crime if he had grown up in another area of the country?

Essay Topic 3

Look at the structure of the book.

1) Discuss elements of the narrative structure: exposition, conflict, complication, climax, resolution and conclusion. Do all the elements make for a logical and linear story? How does the story's structure express the book's ideas?

2) Examine the way Piri uses other people in the story to express his ideas.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 739 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample