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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. In a letter to Howard Cushman, what request does White have about trumpeter swans?

2. Where in Florida do the Whites travel to in 1963?

3. Which John Steinbeck book was the result of an assignment for Holiday magazine that White could not complete?

4. Which newspaper does White write to in protest about their profile of New Yorker editor, William Shawn?

5. What version of White's remembrance of Strunk is used in the final copy of "The Elements of Style"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What feedback and advice does White offer to James Thurber for the story,"The Thirteen Clocks"?

2. What does White reveal about his farm in his answer to the questions of Mrs. Bard's fifth-grade class in Larchmont, New York?

3. Which ailment and animal's escapades does White write to his stepson and his wife about in 1968?

4. How does White describe the beginning days of the New Yorker to an author that is researching a book?

5. What joke does White make to his brother, Stanley, before having a hernia operation?

6. What complications does White have with his vision in 1982, and how many years does he provide newsbreaks for the New Yorker before retiring?

7. Who does the illustrations for "Charlotte's Web", and what does White send to his publisher to help with the drawing of Charlotte?

8. How does Hanna-Barbera acquire the rights to produce the animated motion picture version of "Charlotte's Web"?

9. In another letter to Stanley, what does White say about his use of traction?

10. What is White's concern with the cover art for "Charlotte's Web" and what appropriate advice does he share?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Katharine passes away and her legacy is secured as White contributes to his own biography towards the end of his life.

1) Describe the change in White's writing after Katharine passes away, how her literary effects help establish her legacy, and the way her book, "Onward and Upward in the Garden" is published.

2) Explain the contributions that White makes to his biography as it is being written and his opinion of the finished book.

3) Analyze the ways that E.B. White will be remembered along with the impact of his work in writing and entertainment.

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast the New Yorker magazine in the 1950s with the way it was in the 1920s. Use White's letter to his brother, Stanley, as a reference for his concern about the changes taking place at the magazine. Also, include White's description of the original goal of the New Yorker and his experiences while working there as he writes to an author that is researching a book.

Essay Topic 3

E.B. White provides an autobiography about his family background as the preface for the "Letters of E.B. White".

1) Describe the background of White's parents and what led them to make their home in Mt. Vernon.

2) Explain which siblings White is closest to and why.

3) Describe the help and encouragement that White receives while growing up.

(see the answer keys)

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