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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. What does Russell do the weekend before his reexamination?

2. What does Russell learn to love about Uncle Harold?

3. Whom does Lucy begin to date in 1939?

4. One morning during his paper route, what terrifying story does Russell read?

5. At what age does Mimi run away from the orphanage for good?

Short Essay Questions

1. What school accepts Russell?

2. What is odd about the family's new Baltimore home?

3. After failing one flight examination, how does Russell pass the next one with "Total Loss" Smith?

4. What are Russell and Lucy's letters back and forth about?

5. What part of adult life is Russell missing, according to his assessment of his friends?

6. What class at school is torture for Russell, and why?

7. Where does Russell work in his final year of high school?

8. What news prompts Lucy to send Russell out right away to sell his papers in 1939?

9. What is Russell's writing success in Mr. Fleagle's class?

10. Why is Russell sent to the principle's office at his new school?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the style of this work? What elements does the author blend together? What is the end result? How does the author make the adolescent and childhood experiences translate into meaningful reading for adults? Do you enjoy reading nonfiction and biographical works? Why or why not? Did you enjoy reading this book? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

Like everyone, Russell has insecurities about himself. How do his insecurities change over the years? Examine Russell as:

1) A small child.

2) A boy.

3) An adolescent.

4) A teenager.

5) A young man.

What are his biggest concerns at each age? How does he overcome his fears?

Essay Topic 3

Much of the work is centered around Russell's education, both formal and informal. Write an essay highlighting what you feel are the three most important things that Russell learned to help him into adulthood and shaped him as a person. Be sure to use properly cited quotations from the text, and present your argument in paragraph form.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 609 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample