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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why did Posey begin working as a hairstylist when Chick was a child?
(a) She liked to help old ladies look good for their husbands.
(b) She wanted more flexible hours.
(c) She preferred hairstyling to nursing.
(d) She was good at it and she needed a job.

2. What did the narrator later find that added to the narrator's information used to write this novel?
(a) A diary.
(b) Newspaper articles and death certificates.
(c) Personal notes and legal papers.
(d) Personal notes and a journal.

3. What musical object does Chick compare small towns to?
(a) Piano key.
(b) Clarinet reed.
(c) Violin string.
(d) Metronome.

4. Which did Chick chose to be as a small child, a daddy's boy or a momma's boy?
(a) Neither.
(b) Both.
(c) Daddy's boy.
(d) Momma's boy.

5. Why does Chick recall that his mother barked at a neighborhood dog?
(a) To make his sister laugh.
(b) To teach him that you have to show a bully whose boss.
(c) To teach the dog not to mess with people.
(d) To make him laugh.

6. What does Posey tell Chick this word is supposed to represent?
(a) A prayer for money to provide for her children.
(b) A prayer for a gentler husband.
(c) A prayer for her children's safety.
(d) A prayer for a baby.

7. What does Posey do with this food?
(a) She eats it herself.
(b) She gives it to a poor neighbor.
(c) She throws it out.
(d) She serves it for dinner.

8. What does the main character think the narrator wants to know about him?
(a) Why he attempted suicide.
(b) Why he left his familiy.
(c) Why his mother died.
(d) Why he drank and drove.

9. In section 1, from what object does Chick decide to jump?
(a) A water tower.
(b) A diving board.
(c) A private balcony.
(d) A shopping mall.

10. What did Chick's mother often slip to Chick whenever she dropped him off somewhere?
(a) Notes.
(b) Kisses.
(c) Food.
(d) Money.

11. Who came to Chick's defense when the librarian refused to allow him to check out the book he wanted?
(a) His father.
(b) His teacher.
(c) His mother.
(d) His friend.

12. What phrase does Chick feel fits him well?
(a) Poor truant, passionate fool.
(b) Life is a beach.
(c) Tiime will tell.
(d) Blundering back to God.

13. What does Chick intend to do once he arrives at his destination in Section 2: Part 1?
(a) To speak to his wife.
(b) To speak to his daughter.
(c) To drink some more.
(d) To kill himself.

14. Why did Len Benetto often spend long chunks of time away from his family?
(a) To help reduce the friction at home.
(b) To visit with liquor distributors and to manage his new store in a town an hour away.
(c) To spend time with his friends.
(d) To spend time with his biological family.

15. Why does Chick Benetto believe he was not invited to this family event?
(a) He does not get along with his extended family.
(b) His attitude made him unwelcome.
(c) His drinking made him an embarrassment.
(d) He does not get along with his ex-wife.

Short Answer Questions

1. The narrator says every family is a what?

2. What does Chick think about his visit to his mother two years after her death?

3. Why does Chick believe Posey lost all her friends after the divorce?

4. What does Chick Benetto blame for the destruction of his marriage?

5. What does Chick feel is unbalanced in the lists he made regarding his and his mother's love for one another?

(see the answer keys)

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