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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 had Buck become after Will’s dad had died as said in Chapter Six?

2. What is Will’s Random Thought No. 02 in Chapter Four?

3. What had Uncle Mark dreamed of, as told in Chapter Four?

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

5. What did Uncle Mark do when his video camera was lost?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. 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?

3. According to Chapter Six, why was Shawn upset as he tells to Buck? What does Buck do to comfort him?

4. When Will hears Buck talking about Shawn being upset in Chapter Six, who does Will think is the guy who bothered Shawn at the convenience store? What does Frick say when asked about Riggs?

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

6. How had Shawn come to know how their dad had passed on as told in Chapter Five? How had Buck become for Shawn after Mikey Holloman had died?

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

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

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

10. What does Uncle Mark ask Will after Will finishes the scene in Chapter Four? What does Uncle Mark say in reply to Will’s response?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

When Frick explains why he shot Buck, he justifies this by saying he is just earning his stripes, and the men around him respond by nodding and saying there is no judgement (275). Why do they accept what he says? Why are they not mad? How is their acceptance a part of the community norms? How is their acceptance connected to The Rules? Connect this example to one other instance in the novel of acceptance of circumstances. Use this to develop a claim about why acceptance exists in this way for the community as shown by the novel.

Essay Topic 2

By the end of the novel, what Will knows about his father and brother is changed. His father is not like he imagined, and his brother has broken rule number one. Has Will changed? Why or why not? How has his character been influenced by the events of the novel? Pull at least three examples from the novel to show how either he has changed or stayed the same in spite of interacting with the other characters.

Essay Topic 3

Long Way Down uses and reinterprets several metaphors throughout the book. Choose one of the metaphors or figures of language used in Long Way Down (such a middle drawer). Find and write three instances of how the metaphor is used and changed or interpreted in new ways throughout the novel. What is the first definition of the word? What is the meaning of the word by the end of the novel? Finally, why is this metaphor used over and over? What is the purpose of the novel in using the same figurative language over and over?

(see the answer keys)

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