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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. Where is Me-me when Penny gets home from the wake?

2. Which of the following two questions is Penny being asked covertly every time that she is visited at the hospital by a friend or relative, and asked how she is feeling?

3. What is Frankie going to attempt to do while carrying out his offer of help to Nonny?

4. Which of the following United States military services does Mr. Mulligan tell Penny that he joined at one time?

5. Which of the following couples are paid a visit by Me-me and Pop-pop on the same day that Frankie invites Penny to go to the public pool?

Short Essay Questions

1. According to the text in Chapter 20 of the book, do any pleasant things or occurrences take place in Penny's life upon her return from the hospital?

2. Based on the narrative in the thirteenth chapter of the book, how is Penny's birthday observed by her father's side of the family?

3. According to the text in Chapter 17 of the book, what happens in relation to those who visit Penny as she continues her stay in the hospital?

4. According to the text in Chapter 13 of the book, what normal events take place in Penny's life on her birthday?

5. According to the narrative in Chapter 16 of the book, how does Penny react in relation to her arm injury?

6. Based on the text in the thirteenth chapter of the book, do any misunderstandings occur between Penny and her mother on her Penny's birthday?

7. According to the text in the fourteenth chapter of the book, what does Penny do in order to keep her dying Scarlett O'Hara comfortable during the last hours of her life?

8. Based on the text in Chapter 14 of the book, how does Frankie's problem with the church ultimately get resolved?

9. According to the narrative in the thirteenth chapter of the book, what types of items is Penny gifted with on her birthday that may help enhance her appearance?

10. Based on the text in the twelfth chapter of the book, why does Frankie feel justified in treating Aunt Concetta's death as an uneventful occurrence in his life as well as that of Penny's?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

We see a little contrast in color in the story as Pop-pop is painting everything in the house with black lacquer because it makes Me-me happy; and in the process, Penny experiences a streak of bad luck with the black paint. Was Me-me's belief that painting everything black would make everything nicer based on superstition? Or was it based on reality? What about Penny's accident with the black paint? Was that merely coincidence based on reality, or was it a streak of bad luck brought about by some element of superstition associated with the black paint? Cite text and/or paraphrase scenarios from the book to support your position.

Essay Topic 2

There is within the story, a flashback of Penny dreaming about being with her father at the beach - an obvious illusion of sorts. She is awakened by water from a leaky toilet leaking on her face. She calls on her Uncle Dominic to fix the leaky toilet; and he does - just as he has always done before. Does the leaky toilet wake up Penny to the fact that her biological father now only exists in her dreams, while the role that her Uncle Dominic has in her life is more that of a real father? Cite text and/or paraphrase scenarios from the book to support your position.

Essay Topic 3

There is a lot of generosity extended toward Penny throughout the book, especially from relatives on her father's side of the family. Whose generosity does Penny value the most? Uncle Nunzio's? Uncle Ralphie's? Or Uncle Dominic's? Cite text and/or paraphrase scenarios from the book to support your position.

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