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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. What prevented Injun Joe's capture at the Widow Douglas' house?

2. Why does Tom remember to grab the towel before running?

3. What does the boy Becky spent time with do to Tom when he finds out he's been used?

4. What does Becky do that she thinks will get her in trouble?

5. How does Tom react to Becky when he goes back to school?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where does Tom think he's found No. 2?

2. Does the Welshman take credit for saving Widow Douglas?

3. Describe Huck's reaction to living with the Widow Douglas.

4. How does Tom treat Amy Lawrence when he comes back to school?

5. Describe the Spaniard.

6. What does Tom say that people often find that leads them to a buried treasure?

7. How does Mrs. Thatcher react as Tuesday comes and Becky is still missing?

8. How does Becky react when she first realizes she and Tom are lost?

9. What is kept in the mysterious room at the tavern?

10. What does Tom think when he's whipped for ruining his schoolbook?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Tom Sawyer is a dramatic person. He creates melodrama out of the events of his life.

1) Why does Tom Sawyer take on a melodramatic attitude of pining for Becky and then depression when Becky rejects him? Who is this attitude aimed at?

2) How and why does Tom dramatize the things that he does, such as running away to become a pirate? Why does Tom choose to let his family suffer, thinking he's dead, so that he can make his reemergence more dramatic?

3) What is the origin of Tom's desire for drama?

Essay Topic 2

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is filled with stereotypes. Discuss stereotypes in the novel.

1) What are the racial stereotypes in the novel? How is Injun Joe a stereotype of the author, and how is he stereotyped by the town?

2) What are the gender stereotypes in the novel? Discuss Aunt Polly, Widow Douglas, Becky Thatcher, and Amy Lawrence as examples of female stereotypes.

3) How are Tom Sawyer and Huck Finns stereotypes of boys?

Essay Topic 3

Tom Sawyer is set in a small town in middle-America in the mid-1800s. Discuss the importance of the setting of Tom Sawyer.

1) How are the qualities of Tom's childhood determined by the setting?

2) What type of independence does the setting allow Tom? What types of constraints does the setting put on Tom?

3) How might Tom's childhood be different in a different location or time?

(see the answer keys)

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