View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Abbie think of Christine?

2. Where does Will decide to move his family?

3. What does Grandpa Deal tell Abbie in Chapter 6?

4. What does Abbie name her first born child?

5. What does Abbie think about Grandma Deal?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the Deals' fifth crop turn out?

2. What does Abbie decide to do for her children in Chapter 14?

3. What does Abbie's mother give her before Abbie's wedding?

4. What does Abbie discover near the families' camp in Nebraska?

5. Compared to the Deals, how do the Lutzes fare in Nebraska?

6. Following the advice of the preacher's wife, who does Abbie decide to marry in Chapter 6?

7. Who hears Abbie sing in the woods? What does this person promise her?

8. What is Abbie said to be fascinated by in Chapter 1?

9. In Chapter 2, what catastrophe nearly befalls the Mackenzie family on their journey?

10. What pet does Will Deal keep? Why must he get rid of it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the motif of survival in the novel. Why do Abbie and her family struggle to survive during their first few years in Nebraska? How do they handle this burden? Who helps them along the way? What character traits of Abbie's help her during this time?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the career of the author of the novel, Bess Streeter Aldrich. What are some of the other works she has written? Compare the themes of these other works to those in "A Lantern in her Hand."

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the setting of the novel. In what way is the setting an important aspect of this story? How might Abbie's life have been different if she had not lived in the Mid-West during pioneering days?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 737 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample