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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 comes onto the elevator in Chapter Six?

2. What does Will’s dad finally do with the gun in Chapter Five?

3. What had Shawn told Will about Buck’s death as Will says in Chapter Six?

4. What happens at the end of the scene Uncle Mark and Will are saying in Chapter Four?

5. What does the smoke in the elevator feel like to Will in Chapter Four?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter Four, what does Will remember when he realizes the guy who gets onto the elevator is Uncle Mark?

2. What are the stories Shawn had told Will about their dad in Chapter Five? What does Will remember about these stories?

3. What does Will’s dad do to Will after he tells Will his story? How does Will respond? How does their interaction end?

4. How had Will’s dad felt after Uncle Mark’s death as told in Chapter Five? What is the figurative language his dad uses to describe how he feels?

5. What is the script of the film Uncle Mark wants to make as described by Jessie in Chapter Four?

6. How had Shawn learned what had happened to Buck as told in Chapter Six? Why was the person who told Shawn not considered a snitch?

7. What had Will’s dad done in as told Chapter Five after Uncle Mark’s death?

8. Who gets on the elevator in Chapter Five? What do the new person and Will do? How does Will feel?

9. How does Will’s dad feel after he shoots the guy in Chapter Five? Who does Will’s dad find out he actually shoots?

10. What does Uncle Mark start doing to get a new video camera in Chapter Four? Why does he do this?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Chapter One, Will takes Shawn’s gun and alludes to a little brother holding his big brother’s hands, in a sense, walking in his footsteps. In Chapter Five, Mikey Holloman tells his story of going to shoot his older brother’s killer in words and actions similar to Will’s choosing to avenge Shawn. In place of actual relationships with male role models, how are young boys shown following after their role models paths? Find at least three textual examples to explore how the novel shows younger generations taking after older generations.

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast the character of Will Holloman to Mikey Holloman. How are these characters similar or different to one another? How are their actions related? How are their words related to one another? Why does the novel set these two characters up as foils of one another? What does their mirroring suggest about the novel's structure, and eventual ending? Write a response with at least four textual examples.

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast how Pop feels and acts after shooting Ghee to how Will feels and acts after Dani dies. What similarities exist between the two scenes? What is the novel saying about death by having these similarities? What themes is the novel trying to evoke with these two passages? Write a claim about the purpose of comparing the theme, and draw on at least two other sections in the novel to support your claim.

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