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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. The man with the baby sock said he would stop traveling on the bus after what happens?

2. Which one of these characters does not know the truth about Eddie's death in Chapter 5?

3. In which class do the boys discuss the speech given by the army chaplain?

4. In what year does the novel conclude?

5. What happens two days before the boy visits his parents in Chapter 6?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Father Nugent talk to the boy narrator about and why does it make him uncomfortable?

2. What causes the boy to realize his mother doesn't care what he reveals to anyone?

3. What does the boy mean when he says he has become the "plague himself" by wanting to know what had "plagued her"?

4. What is the boy punished for by the Dean and what is his punishment?

5. Describe the relationship between Tony, Katie, and the boy's mother.

6. How does his mother's inability to speak because of her stroke affect her relationship with the boy?

7. What does the boy believe about his loyalties to his parents as he sets off to college?

8. What scripture passages does the boy enjoy reading, but why do they trouble him?

9. What is important about the boy's reading of the story of Eddie's death in Irish?

10. What does Crazy Joe know about the mystery surrounding Eddie's death?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast Aunt Katie and the boy's mother.

1.) Why does the boy's mother react negatively toward Katie?

2.) Compare and contrast the women's behavior toward the boy narrator.

3.) Ultimately, they both experience the loss of the same man. How does it affect each of them?

Essay Topic 2

If this story had happened in America, how might it change? What details would be different? What historical events in America might have affected the story? How might the characters behave differently?

Essay Topic 3

What is the significance of disappearance and death as themes in the novel?

1. Are these themes important to keeping the secret a mystery to the boy?

2. How does the story of Eddie's death change for the boy as more people disappear or die?

3. How are the stories told by the characters (Sean, Francis, Frances, Brigid, Claire Falkener, Grenaghan, etc.) all related to this theme of death and disappearance?

(see the answer keys)

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