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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 allows Shawn to witness the dog's moment of death?

2. When Sydney becomes famous for the poem, what famous person does he meet?

3. When Shawn has an "autonomic, uncontrollable systemic reflex" during a seizure, what is Shawn doing?

4. What is Shawn's gift?

5. What happens when Shawn awakens from a seizure?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Shawn's father throw at the crow, and does he hit or miss its target?

2. What does Shawn consider ironic about his actual intelligence and the assumed level of his intelligence within his class at school?

3. Why does Shawn say that he has looked into death's eyes?

4. How does Shawn describe the first signs that he will have a seizure?

5. How does seeing the death of the dog make Shawn feel?

6. What does the encounter with the crow reveal to Shawn's father, and what thought occurs to him?

7. How does Shawn describe his experience with grand mal seizures as a child?

8. How does Shawn use the example of George Washington to show the reader that he knows more than he is given credit for?

9. What does Cindy do when the dog is hit by a car?

10. When Shawn first heard people referred to as "vegetables," what types of images did he envision in his head?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

One of Sydney McDaniel's main reasons for saying he wants to end Shawn's life is because he says he wants to end Shawn's "pain." What does Sydney think that the pain is like for Shawn when he has his daily seizures? Where does he get his information? Is he correct? Name three ways that Sydney's reaction to his son's seizures affects Shawn and the entire family?

Essay Topic 2

Shawn states that he does not like it when people are called "special." Write about at least two characters who can be considered "special" in Stuck in Neutral.

Part 1) What does Shawn mean by "special," who is considered "special," and in what way are there characters in Stuck in Neutral considered special?

Part 2) How does Shawn's attitude and the attitude of others about being considered "special" add tension to the plot?

Essay Topic 3

Shawn remembers attending the reading of the Pulitzer Prize winning poem that Sydney McDaniel writes. Why does Shawn become uncharacteristically annoyed on the night of the poem reading? Are there any aspects of the reading that do not annoy him? Name at least three reasons for each and explain Shawn's feelings in each case.

(see the answer keys)

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