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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 did Rose always do a few years beyond her grade level?

2. What is the only day that was NOT discussed in the time span of Chapter 2?

3. How high was the temperature on the first day of the journey?

4. How is the wind in South Dakota described?

5. What caused the banks to collapse in the place where Rose was born?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Laura do to prepare for her family's trip?

2. Why did one woman call the people in Missouri hovels?

3. How did Mr. Sherwin convince the Wilders of where to move their family to?

4. What caused the Wilders to want to move from South Dakota?

5. What did Laura marvel at while passing a farm in Nebraska?

6. What services were the Wilders able to get in Yankton, and what were they surprised to not be able to find there?

7. Why did Mr. Cooley wish they had taken a more westernly route?

8. What happened when the Cooleys lost their dog along the trip?

9. What happened on the 5th of August?

10. What are the three "Miss" States that Rose talks about in the first chapter?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What role does the lap desk play in the story, and what does it symbolize? How is the plot altered by the presence of the lap desk?

Essay Topic 2

What are Rose's final words in the book, and what do they imply? How do these words sum up the entire theme of the book?

Essay Topic 3

Patience was an attribute that was very apparent in a number of the people described in this book. Where did this attribute appear, and how was the trip changed and enhanced because of the people who possessed this trait?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 673 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample