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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. Who pulls Piri away from fighting the man on the train?

2. Why do Piri's parents want to move to Long Island?

3. What part of Long Island does the family move to?

4. What does Piri ask his father to get him?

5. What part of his body does Piri injure in this section?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. What happens at the faggots' apartment?

5. How does Piri injure his hand?

6. Describe Piri's upbringing.

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

8. How does Piri react to what he hears Marcia and her friends saying?

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

10. Describe Piri's time with Pane and his sister, Lorry.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine Piri's time in prison.

1) What concessions did Piri have to make in prison to survive?

2) How did prison change Piri?

3) What kind of person do the students think Piri would have become if he had not gone to prison?

Essay Topic 2

Choose one of the following and examine how it helped Piri to focus on improving himself as a person while in prison:

1) Prison routine

2) Denial of parole

3) Religion

Essay Topic 3

Discuss differences between the novel and autobiography formats. What are the main elements of a novel? What are the main elements of an autobiography? What can novelists express that an autobiographer cannot? How can autobiographies keep to the facts while still maintaining a level of entertainment?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 760 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample