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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. How does Pharoah think of the lush, grassy lawn around the condominium complex called Damen Courts?

2. What solidifies the friendship between Rickey and Pharoah?

3. Why does LaJoe hope that Dawn is successful?

4. Bird Leg's cousin, Rickey, is full of rage. Why?

5. How many inmates was the Cook County jail built to house?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Lafeyette is caught shoplifting, how does LaJoe react?

2. Describe the emotions of the project boys and the train passengers as a train passes while the boys search for snakes.

3. Explain what happens to Bird Leg.

4. Describe Pharoah's secret place.

5. What is the accusation the local welfare office caseworkers bring against LaJoe?

6. How are Dawn and Demetrius singled out and publicized?

7. Describe the relationship between LaJoe and her husband, Paul.

8. Describe LaJoe in one or two sentences.

9. Mention something about the character of Craig Davis.

10. How does Lafeyette's attitude change toward Rickey?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about political and criminal abuse of the poor, the uneducated, and the elderly. Explain why these people are so vulnerable to scams and oppression. Compare the scam artists who bilked LaJoe out of her deposit money for a new house to the corrupt politicians who allowed the projects to fall victim of disrepair and lawlessness. Include examples of whole political systems which allow starvation and genocide to go on among their people.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay entitled "Kick the Dog." Begin with a story about a man who was harassed at work all day. When he comes home, the dog greets him with its tail wagging. The man, unable to fight back at work, takes his anger out by kicking the innocent dog. Using LaJoe and Lafeyette as examples, write your paper about how people often take out their frustrations of innocent and often helpless people.

Essay Topic 3

When faced with the prospect of going to prison for a crime he did not commit, Terrence participated in an armed robbery with the attitude that he might as well commit the crime he had been accused of. Write a paper on the possibility of false imprisonment in the judicial system. Explain why it is possible and what makes it seem to happen so often.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,001 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample