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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. Who is Nathan Torrence?

2. What does Jesse do to the woman before he kills?

3. What does Adam tell Lily that Tess is planning?

4. Why does Willa think her father writes his will the way he does?

5. How does Willa feel as she drives around the ranch?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Tess decide to do about Nate's Christmas present and how does Willa feel about that?

2. What does Tess see at the corral that bothers her, what does she do, who takes her in the house, and what does he say to her?

3. What does Ben asks Willa to do at the New Year's Eve party, what is her response, and what do the two of them think of Adam and Lily?

4. What do Ben, Tess and Lily discuss over soup, and what does Ben point out in their discussion?

5. Why is Willa crying on the couch when Ben finds her and what does he do about it?

6. How does Jesse Cooke feel about what is happening at the Mercy ranch and what does he plan to do?

7. What do Willa and Ben find the day after the funeral, how do they find it, and what do they do about it?

8. What does Willa think is the reason her father set the will up as he did?

9. Where does Tess go after the funeral, who is her mother, and what is her mother like? Why did her mother marry her father?

10. Who is the ranch foreman, of what does he assure Willa, and what is his and Willa's relationship?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Oftentimes, a book has more of a character-driven plot rather than action driven, and oftentimes the other way. Some books seem to balance the two. Discuss the following:

1. What do you think it means to say that a plot is character driven? Action driven?

2. How do you think a plot differs if it is character driven versus action driven?

3. Which type of plot do you find more interesting? Why?

4. Do you think it is possible to have a plot where action and character development share equal time? Why or why not?

5. What type of plot do you think Living Dead in Dallas is? Explain your response.

Essay Topic 2

In this book, three sisters meet, live together for a year, meet men and end up either married or ready to be married. The plot is almost unbelievable.

1. With research, define narrative contrivance and use two situations from Montana Sky to support your definition.

2. Discuss the following statement: Narrative contrivances detract from a book if they are too unbelievable.

3. Do you think the author could have written a better book if she had not made the situation of three sisters meeting three men and just happen to fall in love with those three men all living in a small town? Explain what might have been more believable.

Essay Topic 3

Roberts chooses to write the novel as a third person, impersonal narrator. Discuss the following:

1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of Montana Sky being written in the third person, impersonal narration?

2. Do you think the novel would be more effective in a different point of view? Which one if so? If not why do you think the impersonal narrator works the best?

3. Do you think the narrator in Montana Skya is reliable, i.e., do you believe the narrator is completely unbiased? Explain your response.

(see the answer keys)

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