A Chance in the World

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

Multiple Choice

1. What does Steve mean when he tells Betty, “God is going to take care of you”?

A) He is encouraging her because she must stay with the abusive Willie.

B) He is threatening her with judgment for what she has done to him.

C) He is forgiving her for her abuse toward him.

D) He is encouraging her to overcome her faults and become a better person.

2. Which of the following is not a reason Steve wrestles with his identity?

A) He doesn’t know his parents.

B) He is confused about his ethnicity.

C) He wonders where his intelligence came from.

D) He doesn’t understand why he is in foster care.

3. What is likely the reason Steve likes books such as Watership Down?

A) He can identify with survival against improbable odds.

B) He likes stories that guarantee academic success.

C) He wants to escape his circumstances.

D) He thinks the books will make him a better student.

4. What is the evolution of Steve’s spiritual understanding over the course of the memoir?

A) He is angry at God for the situation he found himself in but develops acceptance.

B) He believes God cannot forgive his parents but finally does forgive them himself.

C) He is angry about his situation but develops a sense of forgiveness and acceptance.

D) He accepts his circumstances but becomes increasingly angry as the story progresses.

5. Which summary best describes how the system failed Steve?

A) They failed to report his allegations of abuse.

B) They did not bother to ensure he was safe but allowed the Robinsons to keep him.

C) They did not bother to screen the Robinsons to ensure they had a safe home.

D) They reported his abuse, but Steve had to stay in the home while they investigated.

6. Why does Steve change his last name to Pemberton?

A) Klakowicz is his mother’s name.

B) He wanted a legacy.

C) He does not like his father.

D) He realizes Kenny is his father.

7. Based on Steve’s experience, how do you think he would define family?

A) People who live in the same house

B) People who have the same parents

C) People who have shared experiences

D) People who feel they belong together

8. Why are the people Steve encounters throughout his life important to his development as a person?

A) They give him things.

B) They encourage him.

C) They feed him.

D) They befriend him.

9. Which of the following story elements helps develop the theme of Identity, Race, and Racism?

A) Kenny lost the Las Vegas Golden Gloves competition.

B) Steve’s mother doesn’t want him.

C) Steve’s grandparents didn’t search for him.

D) Kenny is arrested on murder charges.

10. What does the Whaleman’s Memorial symbolize to Steve?

A) A courageous captain on the hunt

B) A brave explorer facing danger

C) An opportunist seeking prosperity

D) A sailor who spends long nights away from family

11. What is Steve’s answer for how to live a meaningful life when he was not wanted in the past?

A) He was never wanted before, but he is wanted now.

B) He shared his experience with others.

C) He found like-minded people who had also been abandoned.

D) He became a voracious reader to make himself useful.

12. What does Steve describe in Chapter 37 as his mother’s biggest failing?

A) Neglect

B) Alcohol abuse

C) Relationships

D) Motherhood

13. How do books inspire Steve to rise above his volatile situation with the Robinsons?

A) They give him a sense of escape.

B) They provide him with the hope of success.

C) They teach him new things.

D) They show him the world is not all bad.

14. Which of the following does Steve Pemberton’s memoir seem most concerned with emphasizing?

A) The consequences of drug and alcohol abuse

B) The urgent need to reform foster care

C) The completion of education and betterment of oneself

D) The search for identity and need for belonging

15. What changes should be enacted, based on the contents of the memoir?

A) A reform in child protective services.

B) More opportunities for learning for disadvantaged kids.

C) Better care in reporting child abuse.

D) Reforms in attitudes toward reading.

Long Answer

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

1. Why do you think Betty called Steve from the hospital while she was dying? How does Steve’s reaction to the call relate to his personal development?

2. Why do you think Marian left Steve’s name off the list of her children in the letter she wrote to her father? How does this affect Steve’s opinion of his mother, his own identity, and his future?