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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. When Steve decides to write a movie, where does he say he learned to block out scenes?

2. What stolen goods does Wendell Bolton buy?

3. What has Steve never seen his father do?

4. Which two items are taken away from prisoners, according to Steve?

5. How old is Mr. Nesbitt at the time of his murder?

Short Essay Questions

1. When the newscaster in Steve's "notes" section of the screenplay asks a passerby if he is shocked by the crime, what is the man's response?

2. Why do the charges against Wendell Bolden get dropped?

3. In his journal notes for Tuesday, July 7, why does Steve say he needs to keep thinking of the movie?

4. When Steve decides to write a movie, what does he say it will be a story of?

5. When does Steve say he feels most involved with his case?

6. What kind of knife does one prisoner have? Describe it.

7. What is Steve doing when the police come to arrest him and take him away from home?

8. What are the reasons, according to O'Brien, that Steve should take this trial "very, very seriously"?

9. In the first journal entry, why does Steve say he does not recognize himself?

10. Why does O'Brien say things are looking bad for Steve's case after Osvaldo's testimony?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Using specific textual examples, describe and contextualize the way Walter Dean Myers uses the word "monster" in this book. Be sure to consider how the author means it literally as well as metaphorically or symbolically, and be sure to discuss to which character(s) this word applies.

Essay Topic 2

What does this novel communicate to the reader about personal responsibility and guilt? Write an analysis describing and investigating what Myers thinks about these two issues. Be sure to offer working definitions of each, personal responsibility as well as guilt, and determine, through specific and explicit textual analysis, the ways in which these two issues are similar to each other and/or differ from each other.

Essay Topic 3

In a persuasive and analytical essay, describe the format of this novel. First, describe the various format(s) Myers uses in this novel. Second, decide whether or not you think one kind of format used in this novel is more effective than the other in communicating the major fictional elements: setting, characterization, imagery, symbolism, plot, action, etc. Be sure to write an essay with a strong argument about the effectiveness of the various format(s) you have described in the first part of the question.

(see the answer keys)

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