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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 is Sam Simpson?

2. What physical trait does Gus have that makes him unique?

3. What does Max Mercy find out about Roy at the beginning of Chapter 5?

4. How does Roy relate to Pop?

5. How does Harriet respond when Roy says he wants to be the best baseball player ever?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Roy understand Pop's feelings so well about losing the game for his team? Compare his and Pop's experiences with failure.

2. What did Pop tell Roy about the pennant game and his dreams?

3. What does The Judge do when Roy asks him for a raise?

4. A lady in red appears to Roy, but it is not clear if it is in a dream or reality. The lady in red, whether a dream or not, points out something to the reader. What is that fact?

5. Discuss the reaction of the fans when The Judge refuses to give Roy a raise. What do they do?

6. When Roy goes to see a fortune teller when he is in his big slump, she tells him he will meet a beautiful brunette. What is Roy's reaction?

7. When Memo comes to Roy's room she talks to him about money and how much it costs to start a good business. Why did she do that, and what else does she tell him?

8. What happens to the Knights when the first-place Pirates come to town to play against them?

9. What problem does Pop Fisher have with his pitcher, Fowler, and how does that affect the games?

10. Sam is on the scene as a character for a very short time. What purpose does he serve as a character?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Roy agrees to the Judge's crooked proposition to "sell out." What are his motives? Who, or what, is Hobbs selling out for? What are his reasons for selling out? Give examples from the book to defend your views.

Essay Topic 2

Malamud tells us that sometimes when Hobbs watched the baseball come to him before hitting it, he thought it looked like all circles, and he didn't like circles. He made the statement that circles just bring you back to the place you started from. Explain that theme from the novel, coming back to where you started. What examples from the novel illustrate that theme?

Essay Topic 3

Malamud wrote, "Sometimes as he watched the ball soar, it seemed to him all circles, and he was mystified at his devotion to hacking at it, for he had never really liked the sight of a circle. They got you nowhere but back to the place where you were to begin with." Discuss ways in which Roy travels in a circle, going nowhere but coming back to where he started from. Give examples from the book.

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