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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 chases after Piri?

2. In what part of the school is the music being played?

3. How is Trinidad related to Louie?

4. What does Piri tell the Jolly Rogers he is going to get from home to get rid of them?

5. What do Piri's parents argue about?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Piri ensure that he becomes part of the TNT gang?

2. Why do Piri and his gang decide to go with Alfredo?

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

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

5. Why does Piri think Crutch has a good way of looking at racism?

6. Describe Piri's relationship with Betty.

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

8. Describe Piri's time with the baseball team at his new school.

9. Why do Piri's parents decide to move to a suburb in Long Island?

10. How does Piri injure his hand?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why has gang culture become such a big part of life in the poorer areas of America? Why does Piri feel he needs to be part of a gang?

Essay Topic 2

Why do you think Piri wants to see the Southern states? How could Piri's attitude cause him big problems in the South? How are race relations in the the South different from race relations in the North?

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 761 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample