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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. As Matt and Attean find their way back to the cabin, what does Attean find and share with Matt?

2. What is it in the story of Robinson Crusoe that angered Attean?

3. What is one book that Matt has in the cabin?

4. What does the word "seba" mean?

5. According to the stranger, what life experiences does this man have?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain how Matt's appetite might be considered the impetus for the action of Chapter 5, when he is attacked by bees?

2. How dies Matt discover that he can overcome his loneliness?

3. Explain whether Matt is jealous of Attean's fishing skills.

4. Explain why the reader senses that Matt's rescuer is kind and that Matt is safe.

5. Why might Attean be so uninterested in learning to read and write the English language?

6. After fishing and managing to catch four fish, how is Matt's good mood quickly ruined?

7. How does Matt's garden experience prove to be frustrating?

8. At the end of Chapter 10, Matt comments that Attean has smiled his first genuine smile. One must infer the reason for this smile. What is the reason behind this smile?

9. How does Matt intend to deal with his loneliness?

10. Why might one argue that Matt underestimates the danger the bees could cause him when he is planning to get some honey?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Matt and Attean tell each other stories. Explain the importance of their knowing each other's stories and extend this by explaining the importance of people knowing the stories (such as the tales, the fables, the myths) of other cultures.

Essay Topic 2

At the beginning of The Sign of the Beaver, Matt is a child in his father's care. Although he has learned the lessons his father and his parents have taught him, discuss the immature side of Matt and give examples of his behaviors or early relations with people that suggest that he is still a child.

Essay Topic 3

The Sign of the Beaver is a piece of historical fiction. The basic dilemmas of Attean and his people were the dilemmas and tragedies of the native Americans in the times of westward expansion. What do you think of the author's decision to have Attean and his people leave before Matt's family could meet them?

(see the answer keys)

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