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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 told Chick Benetto she was sorry he did not get a chance to say good-bye before his mother died?

2. What did Posey want Chick to do as an adult?

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

4. Why did Chick and his sister have trouble accepting that their parents were going to get divorced?

5. Why does the narrator claim they chose to write the novel in another person's voice?

Short Essay Questions

1. What causes Chick's mother to stop playing her favorite record?

2. What did the narrator later find belonging to Chick Benetto that was used in writing this book?

3. To whose wedding is Chick Benetto not invited?

4. Why is the word please carved into the side of tree?

5. Why does Chick return to his family home? What does he find there?

6. Why did Chick have a problem with how his mother would leave him at school?

7. Why does the narrator in the Introduction say you might call this novel a ghost story?

8. What offends Chick when a man calls his mother a divorcee?

9. What was Posey's profession at the time of the divorce?

10. When did Chick say he felt he became a Mommy's boy?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Who does Chick see standing over him after he jumps from the water tower? Why does Chick doubt what he is seeing? Who does Chick spend the rest of the day with? Why is this not possible? Why does the impossibility of this not clue Chick in to the idea that something is not right with him? What is the voice Chick continuously hears throughout the day? What does this voice mean to the reader? What does it ultimately mean to Chick? How does Chick respond to the voice?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss ghost stories. Why does the narrator suggest this novel might be a ghost story? Is this novel a ghost story? Who are the ghosts? Are they scary ghosts? Is this novel meant to frighten the reader? Explain. How do the ghosts in this novel change the course of the main character's life? Is this a good change?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss one of the following in detail, citing examples from the novel:

1) Point of view

2) The setting

3) Language and meaning

4) The structure, including the use of lists and newspaper announcements throughout the novel.

(see the answer keys)

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