Hole In My Life

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

Multiple Choice

1. Which idea foreshadows Gantos’s eventual incarceration?

A) Gantos’s removal from his apartment for his behavior

B) Gantos’s description of his unchecked freedom

C) Gantos’s relationships with his peers

D) Gantos’s father pointing out those who committed crimes

2. What about Gantos’s personality allows him to continually make mistakes?

A) He does not internalize and learn from his errors.

B) He thinks all people make mistakes like his own.

C) He justifies his behavior by claiming to be owed something.

D) He believes mistakes will not keep him from succeeding.

3. Which of the following could be considered Gantos’s major character flaw?

A) His soft-hearted nature

B) HIs need for instant gratification

C) His refusal to heed his father

D) His desire for freedom

4. How might Gantos advise someone who has chosen to pursue a criminal path?

A) To seriously consider the benefits of criminal activity

B) To dismiss positivity more often

C) To show remorse for criminal behavior

D) To value freedom over experiences

5. Why does Gantos choose to shirk the warnings of the Bacons?

A) He believes they are thinking from the perspective of privilege.

B) He does not think they know him well enough to provide advice.

C) He believes they have no desire to truly live.

D) He asserts that the Bacons do not have any practical skills of their own.

6. Gantos’s father attempts to warn Gantos of criminal activity. What is his reaction to it?

A) He begins to romanticize life in prison.

B) It inspires him to idealize criminal activity.

C) He starts to recognize the downward trajectory of his choices.

D) It motivates him to stay away from criminal activity.

7. What prevents Gantos from finding success as a writer when he is a young adult?

A) He lacks the proper inspiration to write about something meaningful.

B) He does not have determination or follow-through.

C) He believes luck is on his side but is typically unlucky.

D) He is not motivated to look to others’ works for inspiration.

8. What does Gantos believe leads to criminal activity, based on his own experience?

A) Ignoring warning signs of poor behavior.

B) Mimicking fantastic characters from novels.

C) Small acts that build over time.

D) Immediately and willfully rejecting lawful behavior.

9. What sparked Gantos’s involvement with the Black Revolutionary Headquarters and his hash-smuggling adventure?

A) He is curious about the way others live their lives.

B) He has no other way to carve a living for himself.

C) He finds life on the island uninspiring.

D) He lacks purpose and attempts to acquire it from others.

10. What is the role of fantasy in Gantos’s narrative?

A) It prevents him from analyzing the reality of his decisions.

B) It creates conflict between him and those who are realistic.

C) It makes it easy for him to dismiss his role in drug smuggling.

D) It makes him a better writer because he can envision different possibilities.

11. What best describes Gantos’s view on life?

A) It is predominantly negative.

B) It swings between periods of pessimism and optimism.

C) It is predominately positive.

D) It is firmly rooted in his Zen Buddhist beliefs.

12. How does Gantos develop his personality in his earlier years?

A) He imitates characters from novels.

B) He creates his identity through his friends.

C) He cultivates his character through his father.

D) He acquires it from television.)

13. What is the importance of Gantos’s meditations on his face?

A) Gantos uses his face as an example of the harsh treatment of prisoners.

B) Gantos demonstrates his lack of remorse by reflecting on his appearance.

C) Gantos tracks the effects of drug addiction by describing his worsening complexion.

D) Gantos realizes that the ugliness within himself is reflected on his person.

14. What is ironic about Gantos being sent to prison for drug trafficking?

A) The prison guards blatantly use drugs at the prison.

B) He has had several encounters with drugs in prison.

C) The prison does not monitor drug usage.

D) He experiences less remorse after going to prison.

15. What best describes Gantos’s character growth in the memoir?

A) He decides to pursue a life free from drugs and criminal activity.

B) He writes children’s stories because he dislikes violence.

C) He begins to feel remorse and takes accountability for his actions.

D) He no longer attempts to emulate others.

Long Answer

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

1. What would Gantos likely advise someone to do if they wanted to pursue a career in writing?

2. What choices in Gantos’s early life, before participating in criminal activity, spurred him on the path of criminal behavior?