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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. Why does Carson scratch Maniac's skin?

2. What does the neighborhood woman use to stop Mars Bar Thompson?

3. How long does it take Maniac to untie the Cobble's Knot?

4. What does Maniac eat at the diner?

5. How does Maniac respond when Grayson asks him about attending school?

Short Essay Questions

1. How might Amanda Beale's character be a good match for Maniac?

2. How is Maniac blind?

3. The fact that Maniac takes a nap during the untying of the famous knot says a lot about the way he perceives the event. What does it say?

4. What does the reader learn about Maniac's personality through the scene of Mars Bar and Maniac and the candy bar?

5. What is Grayson so curious about that he obviously has no understanding of during his meal with Maniac at the diner?

6. Why does Maniac paint 101 on the front door of the equipment room?

7. How does Grayson's background shape the man he has become today?

8. Why does Maniac walk right out of town after he realizes that the encyclopedia has been used for confetti?

9. Right at the start of this novel, the reader knows that the main character is going to have a different life than the normal pre-teen. How so?

10. Why do Maniac and Grayson decorate a tree in the woods?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The nickname of the Maniac helps turn him into a legend. How so? Use specific examples from the novel. How is this legendary status a drawback for Maniac?

Essay Topic 2

Chapter 14 ends with this quote, "Inside a house a kid gets one name, but on the other side of the door, it's whatever the rest of the world wants to call him." How and why does Maniac wear one "mask" inside and one outside? How does this apply to all of mankind?

Essay Topic 3

What is Maniac's inner conflict? What is the resolution of that conflict? Do you think the resolution of the conflict will be permanent? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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