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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. How did Ralph describe the "special kid place" to his mother?
2. How old was Ralph when he had his first "searchlight" moment?
3. How did Ralph's father win the "major award"?
4. How does Ralph behave on the blind date?
5. How did the "major award" get broken?
Short Essay Questions
1. Why is it more interesting to hear the story about the Christmas plot to get a BB gun from a child's perspective rather than from the voice of "Adult Ralph"?
2. Why is Ralph paralyzed with fear when he reaches the top of Magic Mountain?
3. Why does Ralph believe that penny candy is such a big deal to a child?
4. What does the reader learn about the main character in the opening chapter?
5. What does Ralph like about Treasure Island?
6. Why is Ralph an Outsider Looking In during the fishing trip?
7. Why was the World's Fair so important to Ralph?
8. Who is Grover Dill, and what does he represent to Ralph?
9. What was similar and different about Ludlow Kissel's and Ralph's father's fireworks experiences?
10. With what does Ralph struggle most in the story about the book report?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
What perceptions did you have about the Midwest before reading this book? Have any of those perceptions been changed? What makes the Midwest different from other parts of the country? What makes it the same? Why was the Midwest the setting for the book? How did it help develop the stories Ralph told?
Essay Topic 2
Which theme was the most powerful in the book and why? Cite examples.
1) An Outsider Looking In
2) Parents Versus Children
3) Nothing in Life Is Free
4) Life Is Not Fair
5) Coming of Age
Essay Topic 3
Ralph's innocence keeps him out of trouble during a couple of stories in the book. Compare and contrast at least two events in which Ralph was saved from punishment because of his youth and innocence. Explore what was his actual punishment and whether that punishment was more or less effective than one that could have come from an adult. Discuss the irony in how his youth kept him from getting into big trouble even as he was trying to be more grown up.
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This section contains 1,122 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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