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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. Most of the students at Devon are seeking choices to enlist that yield the smallest amount of _________.

2. Who is waiting for Gene when he returns to his dorm room?

3. Brinker laments that ________ of their class will be unable to participate in the war.

4. Who else decides they want to enlist?

5. Finny says he can detect conspiracy and others can not because he has ____________.

Short Essay Questions

1. What do Gene and the other boys volunteer to do to support the war effort?

2. Where is the secret Christmas Location that Leper refers to?

3. What does Gene note when he is making up Finny's bed for him?

4. When Gene and Leper get into an argument, what does Leper accuse Gene of?

5. What does Finny say about the war?

6. How does Finny response when Gene sneaks in to visit him?

7. When the students of Devon are looking at different options for military recruitment, what is guiding their decision?

8. What does Gene conclude about Leper's admittance that he escaped?

9. What does Gene realize about Finny as he is being carried away by the others?

10. What is Leper's explanation for his desertion of the Army?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The tree by the river is the site of many victories and one foreboding accident. Juxtaposing nature with tragedy seems to cause the reader to react more strongly than they might have had the accident occurred in another setting.

Part 1: What might the symbolism of the tree mean in the story? What might the tree represent to the characters and to the plot?

Part 2: Describe the victories that occur at the place of the tree.

Part 3: How does the tree affect each of the main characters in this novel?

Essay Topic 2

The scene when Finny and Gene are on the beach playing hooky is a touching one, though it seems while it is very important to both boys, the reactions are different from what the reader expects.

Part 1: Describe what happens between Gene and Finny when they are on the beach.

Part 2: Why can't Gene respond to Finny's statement?

Part 3: What does this scene seem to reveal to Gene (and to the reader) about Finny?

Essay Topic 3

The trial that seeks to prove Gene's guilt in Finny's accident is a haunting scene that seems to have numerous outcomes, beyond that which occurs in the Assembly Room.

Part 1: Describe what happens during the trial scene between Finny, Gene, and the others present.

Part 2: How does the trial affect Gene?

Part 3: How does the trial affect Finny?

(see the answer keys)

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