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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. The reader can determine that the narrator has matured by the second summer after studying which of the following?

2. What can Sissie see from her seat as she plays a game?

3. Which of the following is a quality of the narration in the book?

4. Which of the following might be considered a tone in the story?

5. How old is Jerry as he waits with Sissie for their father the second summer?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the island that Sissie and Jerry explore.

2. What is Sissie afraid of in Part 1?

3. What sets Sissie apart from the other children in Part 1?

4. What message about marriage does Sissie pass on?

5. Describe the hierarchy of the sexes present in the story.

6. At the end of the book, what does Sissie believe about her mother?

7. What is one specific example from Part 2 of the novel's setting being a rural one?

8. Why does Sissie feel that she is a burden in Part 3? How does this make her feel?

9. What does Sissie claim anchors her to the earth?

10. How does the writer make the summer season very apparent in the text in Part 2?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the central conflict in "Four Summers"? Is the conflict in the story physical or emotional? How does the reader know this?

Essay Topic 2

Would you consider distrust to be a theme in the book? Who is Sissie distrustful of? Why?

Essay Topic 3

Who or what is the protagonist in "Four Summers"? Why? Who or what is the antagonist in "Four Summers" and how does the reader know this? What role do both the protagonist and antagonist play in the story?

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