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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. Where did Bryson go on the outing with his friend and his family?

2. Who created the first television dinners?

3. What was it about Bryson's Thunderbolt Kid outfit that caused laughter from the other kids?

4. What did Bryson keep for years just for the sake of conversation?

5. Who was the girl in Bryson's neighborhood that everyone wanted to see naked?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did the Thunderbolt Kid get his powers and what were the circumstances of the Thunderbolt Kid getting his costume?

2. Who was Joseph R. McCarthy and what was his role in the fear of Communism that spread across America?

3. Describe a typical experience of Bryson's family stopping to see his mother's family every time they went on vacation.

4. Describe the albino Lincoln Logs experience.

5. How did television change life for people in the 1950s?

6. What particular times were especially long for kids?

7. Where did Bryson go with his friend's family on a summer outing and why did he not look forward to it?

8. What were some of the ways that boys could see glimpses of naked women?

9. What was Bryson's notion of how slowly time passed for kids?

10. Who was The Thunderbolt Kid?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the point of view of this book? Why did Bryson use this point of view? Is it the only way the book could have realistically been written? How else could Bryson have used point of view to alter the rhythm of the book? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

Why did Bryson choose to use the first person perspective for the stories? What does this point of view entail? What do you know about the characters and the plot lines that you would not know from a different point of view? What do you NOT know about the characters and plot lines based on this point of view?

Essay Topic 3

Explain some of the examples of regionalism found in the book. Can regionalism include more than accents and food? What else encompasses the culture and personality of a region?

(see the answer keys)

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