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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 does the narrator believe Paps is really doing when he punishes his sons?

2. What do the brothers do with the baby robins that they find in the woods?

3. How does Ma describe carrying Manny in her "stomach" (26)?

4. What is one nickname that the narrator and his two brothers call themselves?

5. According Chapter 5, THE LAKE, who is the only one in the family allowed to say he/she is scared?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are some examples at the start of Chapter 12, BIG-DICK TRUCK that demonstrate the financial situation of the narrator's family?

2. How come Ma does not answer Paps' phone calls in Chapter 9, TALK TO ME?

3. How does the reader know that Ma was a naive teenager when it came to sex as explained in Chapter 6, US PROPER?

4. Even though it is not explicitly mentioned in the novel, how does the author convey that Ma has been abused by Paps in Chapter 4?

5. As the brothers hid in the bathtub, Paps and Ma pretend to not know and do not immediately come to find them. What deep fears does the narrator share about this lack of attention?

6. How does the narrator differentiate the brothers' behavior in relation to when Ma is awake or asleep?

7. How does Paps coerce Ma into not being so irate about about the new truck?

8. How do you know that the narrator and his brothers are ravenous for more life according to the first page of the novel?

9. What kind of support does Lina provide to the narrator's family when she comes to visit?

10. Why do the brothers dig up Old Man's garden?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The narrator displays conflict about watching the pornographic video, his background with the notion of sexuality, and how the two are connected and also contrasted. Analyze the author's choice to intertwine these emotions that the narrator has.

Essay Topic 2

When Paps purchases a new and rather pigheaded truck for the family, Ma is furious with his decision. In Chapter 12, BIG -DICK TRUCK, there are many reasons that she brings forth to justify her position, but beyond her words, her overall attitude and behaviors also contribute to how she is perceived as feeling. How does Ma's reaction further give insight to her relation with Paps? What does Paps behavior about the incident allow his character to become more complex and versatile?

Essay Topic 3

At the park, Ma feeds the ducks while the brothers wonder off onto a highway. They encounter a woman who is worried that the brothers are dangling their legs off a bridge. When the family leaves the park, Manny calls "a woman" a bitch, but it is unclear whether he is referring to the woman from the highway or Ma. According to the plot line of he novel, which woman do you believe Manny is making reference to and why? What specific aspects of the Chapter lead you to that conclusion?

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