Okay for Now

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Why might Doug find his mother’s smile so beautiful?

A) He believes she deserves to be happy.

B) He rarely gets to see it.

C) She normally only smiles about her garden.

D) She has not smiled much since Lucas went to war.

2. What best describes how Audubon’s paintings provide a unique insight into Doug’s personality?

A) Doug identifies characteristics in the drawings that reflect his feelings.

B) The birds’ actions often describe Doug’s own experiences.

C) Doug thinks the book parallels his own experience of being torn apart.

D) He feels a special bond with Audubon, who used art as an escape.

3. What best explains why Doug fears drawing?

A) His family is often critical of him.

B) He does not want to identify with his cruel gym teacher.

C) His father believes he should pursue practical pursuits, such as work.

D) Artistic pursuits are seen as feminine in his household.

4. How does the behavior of Doug’s family bleed into his own interactions?

A) He refuses to do things he is not good at.

B) He is overly helpful to make up for Christopher’s behavior.

C) He picks on people to interact with them.

D) He draws as a form of escapism.

5. Which of the following best portrays the gender roles in Doug’s home?

A) Doug and his brothers are left unchecked in their behavior.

B) Doug’s mother and father work as a team to raise their children.

C) Doug’s father is abusive and controlling.

D) Doug’s mother stays home, and his father has absolute authority.

6. Based on the character interactions and depictions in the novel, what might one conclude Doug’s family disapproves of?

A) Emotion

B) Friendship

C) Girls

D) Masculinity

7. What inference can the reader make about Lucas’s reasoning for accepting the abuse from Vietnam War protesters?

A) Lucas doesn’t care what the protesters think of him.

B) Lucas believes he deserves their scorn.

C) Lucas thinks he is a war hero.

D) Lucas ignores them because he is happy to be with his family.

8. What influences Doug’s character to change for the better?

A) His new relationship with Lil

B) Lucas’s encouragement after he returns from Vietnam

C) The positive male influences in Marysville

D) Doug’s interactions with his teacher and peers

9. What is the motivating factor for those who mistreat others in the novel?

A) They were mistreated by others.

B) They all have substance abuse problems.

C) They lack empathy and compassion.

D) They were each involved in the Vietnam War.

10. What is Mr. Powell’s role in the novel?

A) He serves as a disciplinarian.

B) He teaches Doug about birds.

C)  He is an authoritarian figure.

D) He serves as a mentor.

11. What does Doug find compelling about Lil’s personality?

A) She is not afraid to confront him when he is unkind.

B) She does not conform to typical gender roles.

C) She behaves similarly to his mother.

D) She encourages his poor behavior toward others.

12. How does Doug go about creating solutions for many of the problems he encounters?

A) He turns to the library for answers to difficult questions.

B) He seeks out his familial ties to resolve problems.

C) He befriends people who will help him to achieve his goal.

D) He begins to work harder at school to develop a sense of achievement.

13. How does Lucas’s character change after returning from the Vietnam War?

A) He shifts from helplessness to taking action.

B) He begins to research and learn about disabilities.

C) He seeks out doctors to help with his physical limitations.

D) He develops a strategy to cope with PTSD.

14. Why might Doug strive to preserve the Audubon drawings?

A) He wants to be able to visit them so he can create drawings.

B) He believes they should be preserved for everyone to see them.

C) He wants to make Mr. Powell and Ms. Merriman happy.

D) He thinks people are greedy in their desire to possess the drawings.

15. How do the townspeople react to Doug’s family’s financial problems?

A) They reach out and attempt to help by donating money.

B) They sympathize with their financial struggles.

C) They react with suspicion and accuse the family of stealing.

D) They refuse to provide the boys with work because they are destitute.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. What is the impact of the Vietnam War on the events in the novel?

2. Which of the characters in the novel would you consider to be the most influential in transforming Doug’s character?