View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why do Ike and Bobby leave the place where they took their classmate?

2. Where do Ike and Bobby go to help herd?

3. What does Raymond worry about the first night Victoria is at their house?

4. Where does Victoria work?

5. What does Guthrie do about Ella's request concerning Ike and Bobby?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Victoria do for her lunch break, who does she encounter and what is the end result?

2. Who does Victoria call on her way to Maggie's house one evening and what happens with that situation?

3. What happens when Ike and Bobby visit the house where their mother now lives?

4. Describe the conversation Tom Guthrie and Lloyd Crowder have about Russell Beckman's grade in American History.

5. Who gathers at the McPherons' for a Memorial Day celebration and what do the brothers tell Guthrie?

6. What happens when Guthrie goes to speak to Russell about what he did to Ike and Bobby?

7. Why does Victoria visit Maggie in her classroom?

8. What do the McPheron brothers find when they arrive home one day and what do they do about it?

9. What do the McPheron brothers do when Victoria doesn't come home and how do they feel about it?

10. What does Victoria tell the McPheron brothers about where she was and where do they take her?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss one of the following:

1. Trace and analyze the theme of change. Consider the following questions as you write: What characters are most concerned with change? Why? What are some symbols of change? Symbols of rigidity? What characters seem rigid?

2. Trace and analyze the theme of mental/emotional illness. Which characters struggle with some sort of emotional illness? Why? Which characters seem really healthy emotionally/mentally? Why?

3. Trace and analyze the theme of death. How did the death of Ike and Bobby's horse affect them? What about Mrs. Stearns? How was their reaction to both deaths similar and different?

4. Discuss why Ella Guthrie moving to Denver was a type of death for the Guthrie family. Use examples from the book to illustrate your discussion.

Essay Topic 2

Guthrie goes upstairs and into the room where his wife, Ella, lies in bed. He asks if she wants anything, but she does not answer. Guthrie leaves the room and Ella looks around before folding her arm across her face. Guthrie leaves the house and drives away in his pickup truck.

1. Do you think Ella Guthrie is depressed? Why or why not? Use examples from the text to support your answer.

2. How do you think younger children such as Ike and Bobby might feel about their mother? Use examples from the text to support your answer.

3. If Tom Guthrie was a friend of yours what would you advise him to do? Use examples from the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Plainsong belongs to the Post Modern genre. Discuss the following:

1. Define the literary term "genre" and give several examples of three other genres in addition to the Post Modern genre.

2. Discuss two reasons why it might be useful to label a text by genre and two reasons it might be disadvantageous to label a text by genre.

3. What do you think is the difference between a Mainstream novel and a Post Modern novel?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,291 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample