View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Dodo try to get Goolrick to do to her?

2. What are the two wings in the insane asylum?

3. Where did Goolrick's brother serve when he was in the military?

4. What didn't anyone during Goolrick's childhood drink?

5. What second operation did brother have that could have rendered him "a zombie" according to mother?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain the situation that led to Goolrick's cutting behaviors.

2. Describe the event with mother's blue and green striped dress.

3. Describe mother's appearance.

4. Describe Goolrick's relationship with his female lover.

5. Describe the area where Mother and Father are buried.

6. Explain Goolrick's initial reaction to his friend's attempt, and his later reactions.

7. Describe Goolrick's state of mind at this point in the novel.

8. Describe the game Goolrick and his brother used to play as children, and the consequences.

9. Describe the dinner at Judy Judy's, including her collection, and the food, as well as the people attending.

10. Describe Goolrick's relationship with his male lover.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the school system Goolrick participated in as a kindergarten and first grade student. Be sure to include information about the teacher, the classrooms, learning environments, social environments, any special events, and the impact those issues had on Goolrick and possibly the other children.

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast the environment in which Goolrick was raised to the current social environment. What are similarities? What are differences? How do you think these might have contributed to his parent's alcoholism? How did the environment contribute to the molestation of Goolrick by his father? Do you think Goolrick's life would have been different in today's society? How?

Essay Topic 3

Choose one of the major themes in the novel, and discuss it. Some examples of themes are child abuse, alcoholism, depression, and the lifestyle of the 1950s and 1960s. Include how Goolrick approached the theme, its purpose in the novel, how it was conveyed to the reader, and how the people in the book reacted to the scenarios this theme presented.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,009 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample