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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 year did Elwood move to New York City?
(a) 1974.
(b) 1962.
(c) 1968.
(d) 1979.

2. Turner told Elwood that any boy taken "out back" (103) at Nickel would end up in what state?
(a) Suicidal.
(b) Homicidal.
(c) Scarred for life.
(d) Dead.

3. Elwood decided in Chapter 8 that he would get out of Nickel how many months before the judge's sentence was up?
(a) 4.
(b) 6.
(c) 3.
(d) 2.

4. On what day of Clinton Smith's freedom from Nickel did he decide it was safe enough for him to hitchhike?
(a) The second.
(b) The sixth.
(c) The twelfth.
(d) The fourth.

5. What criminal acts occurred in the location at Nickel known as "Lovers' Lane" (121)?
(a) Murder.
(b) Child rape.
(c) Theft.
(d) Extortion.

Short Answer Questions

1. How many boxing rounds had Griff completed when he thought he had completed a different number?

2. What was the name of the Community Service supervisor under whom Elwood eventually worked after Turner's recommendation?

3. How old was Harper at the time of Elwood's incarceration at Nickel?

4. Chapter 12 states that in what year, a young inmate at Nickel "died of heart failure while locked in a sweatbox" (144)?

5. Which character overheard Superintendent Spencer order Griff to throw the boxing match?

Short Essay Questions

1. What annual tradition existed at Nickel that involved one white inmate and one black inmate?

2. What quality did Harper name as the most important one for a Community Service work detail member to possess?

3. In what way does Whitehead employ foreshadowing in relation to the story about the escapee named Clayton Smith?

4. How did Elwood meet Denise?

5. What event caused Elwood to decide to put into motion his plan to "get rid of Nickel" (157)?

6. Describe the two different ways of "serving time" (144) outlined by the narrator in Chapter 12.

7. What happened at the first four stops Harper made during Elwood's first day on the Community Service team with Turner?

8. At what conclusion did Elwood finally arrive when he contemplated the reason for his vicious beating in the White House?

9. What bad news did Harriet deliver to her grandson Elwood in Chapter 12 when she came for a visit after missing one due to illness?

10. What "fifth way out of Nickel" (153) did Elwood devise in Chapter 12?

(see the answer keys)

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