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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In what month did Elwood arrive at Nickel?
(a) October.
(b) November.
(c) September.
(d) December.

2. What machine was used to mask the screams of the boys as they were punished within the White House?
(a) A heater.
(b) A fan.
(c) A tennis ball launcher.
(d) A generator.

3. How many minutes did each Nickel Boy get inside the communal showers each day?
(a) 5.
(b) 10.
(c) 2.
(d) 7.

4. When Elwood first met the boys who slept on either side of them, he learned that their names were what?
(a) Pat and Desmond.
(b) Turner and Blakely.
(c) Spencer and Thomas.
(d) Harper and Desmond.

5. For how many years had Blakely worked at Nickel prior to Elwood's arrival?
(a) 8.
(b) 11.
(c) 5.
(d) 2.

Short Answer Questions

1. At the time when widespread media coverage focused on the Nickel Academy, how many Nickel Boy reunions had been held?

2. Though Mr. Marconi had already carried black magazines in his shop, Elwood got him to order what other items tailored to the black community's needs?

3. Phil the houseman told Elwood and the other boys at the scene of the fight that which character would soon hear of the incident?

4. Before the college students found the "secret graveyard" (3) how many bodies in total had they counted within the Nickel Academy's official cemetery?

5. How many days in total had Elwood attended classes at Melvin Griggs Technical before he was unjustly accused of stealing a car?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Elwood's family, as it is presented in Chapters 1 through 3.

2. What was ironic about Harriet's punishment of Elwood upon learning that he had participated in a protest?

3. In what way did the grounds of Nickel surprise Elwood upon his arrival and what is this detail's significance?

4. Who was Mr. Hill?

5. What does the industrial fan within Chapter 6 symbolize and with what theme does Whitehead connect the fan?

6. How are the themes of brutality and oppression intertwined within Chapter 6?

7. What happened to prevent Elwood from attending his first class at Marvin Griggs Technical?

8. What disappointing news did Blakely reveal to Elwood about educational opportunities at Nickel?

9. What Christmas present did Elwood receive in 1962 that the narrator described as "the best gift of his life" (11)?

10. For what reason was Elwood unable to get a full night's sleep the day of his arrival at Nickel?

(see the answer keys)

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