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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. How is Jim built?

2. What is Jim's overall personality?

3. Jim's stories bore Norman to the point of ___________________.

4. What does Norman feel Jim is doing all summer?

5. What happens by the end of the summer?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Jim's wintertime job?

2. How does Norman regain some composure after his trying days with Jim?

3. What is Jim's complaint about the cooks?

4. Who does Norman meet one summer while logging in the woods?

5. How is Jim's behavior at dinner?

6. Where is the location of the woods where Norman works?

7. How does Norman perceive Jim's letters?

8. What is the content of Jim's final letter to Norman?

9. Why is Norman especially annoyed when Jim has an affair with a local woman?

10. What does Norman fear about Jim?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Norman and Mr. Maclean feel powerless to help Paul rid alcohol from his life. Explain what Norman and Mr. Maclean could have done to help Paul. What sources of support are available today for alcoholics that were not available at the beginning of the twentieth century? Do you think that Mrs. Maclean quietly tried to help Paul and ended up enabling him instead?

Essay Topic 2

The Maclean family learns its lessons through times spent fly fishing. What is the significance of fly fishing and what does it symbolize in the story A River Runs Through It? Do you think Norman and Paul appreciate the metaphors provided by their father? Or do they tire of the examples and consider them to be too nostalgic to be appropriate to their current lives?

Essay Topic 3

In spite of their differences, Norman and Paul have learned to respect each other. Name some of the qualities and behaviors that differentiate the two brothers. How are the brothers alike? Why does Mrs. Maclean seem to favor Paul over Norman? Is it because Paul is the baby of the family? Or does Mrs. Maclean know that Paul is especially vulnerable?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 645 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample