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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. Which character is killed in the Vietnam war?

2. Who does Owen say should not be left alone with Tabitha's dressmaking dummy?

3. What do the boys witness the Brinker-Smith's doing while they are hiding?

4. What is Johnny's address?

5. Who is the congregational pastor?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the response from Johnny's family after Tabitha's funeral?

2. Who is Dan Needham, and what does he look like?

3. How does Owen apologize to Johnny?

4. What does Owen predict when he and Johnny are down by the Squamscott River?

5. How do the other Sunday school students treat Owen?

6. What happens to Harry Hoyt's mother?

7. Why does Owen react so strongly to Johnny's opinion of his mother's death?

8. How does the Meany family make a living?

9. What does Owen think he sees when he enters Tabitha's bedroom?

10. Briefly explain this quote: "God has taken your mother. My hands were the instrument. God has taken my hands. I am God's instrument."

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Even though Hester, Owen, and Johnny have a very tight friendship, there are moments when they all begin to doubt each other. In an essay, explain why the boys (either together or individually) doubted some of the decisions that Hester was making. Why did Johnny and Hester (either together or as individuals) doubt some of the decisions that Owen was making? What is the importance of those doubts in the novel? How had their friendships managed to overcome the doubt?

Essay Topic 2

Jealousy is another theme that becomes introduced into Johnny and Owen's relationship as they progress into adolescence. In an essay, explain two of the major events that prompt jealousy between the two boys and the ways that the jealously is overcome. What was it that the boys discussed/decided, if anything, to smooth out their relationship? Had Owen lived into adulthood, do you imagine that jealously would have continued to live in their relationship? What adult events might have transpired that one boy, or the other, could have been jealous of?

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the novel, both Owen and Johnny battle with the ideas of personal histories and family histories defining them. Compare/contrast the family histories that both boys know of themselves when they are 11. Explain the ways that both boys knowledge of themselves has changed by the end of the novel. Which boy was most affected by the knowledge - or lack thereof - of both his personal and family history? What evidence from the text supports this claim?

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