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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 work does Ariel do for Emil Brandt in exchange for music tutelage?

2. What song does Ruth Drum sing at Bobby's funeral?

3. Why does Jake decide not to go to the fireworks stand with Frank, Gus, and Officer Doyle?

4. Why do Frank and Jake walk home from the jail instead of riding in their father's car?

5. What prompts Ruth to bring food to the Klements' house?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Axel's request of Jake at the hospital reveal differences between Frank and Jake?

2. How does Officer Doyle's search of Warren Redstone's lean-to sway the reader's opinion of Warren Redstone's character?

3. What happens within the conversation Frank overhears between Nathan and Emil after Emil's return from the private hospital?

4. How does Gus' monologue about killing a man relate to the novel's title?

5. How does the scene at the old rock quarry reveal themes of adolescent sexuality through Frank's character?

6. Why is Frank so surprised when Officer Doyle asks him his opinion about this year's Minnesota Twins team and asks about his own experiences with baseball?

7. What is the situation that results in Frank, Jake, and Nathan going to the jail in the middle of the night?

8. What are the purposes of the Drum family's visit to Emil and Lise Brandt's house?

9. What is the outcome of Nathan's and Gus' search for Travis Klement, the man they know to have beaten his wife and son?

10. What is revealed about the difference between Frank's and Jake's characters in the moment when they are invited by Gus and Officer Doyle to set off fireworks?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Many of the novel's characters have war experiences in their pasts that significantly affect their futures. Choose three of these characters, analyze their relationships to war experiences, and state and prove the author's message about the nature of war.

Essay Topic 2

Within the epilogue, Frank states there "there is no such thing as a true event" (306). What does he mean and how do these words fit into the context of the novel's overarching themes?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the author's use of red herrings within his mystery narrative. How are they used and what messages does the author send through their use?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,563 words (approx. 6 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample