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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 does the coal company doctor refuse to treat?

2. Why does Lloyd Justice come to the clinic?

3. How does Aunt Becka feel about Flora's engagement?

4. What does Carrie do about her observation from question #63?

5. What happens at the club one evening when they are debating the causes of World War I?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens at a club meeting when the men are debating World War I?

2. What does Carrie do after nursing school and where does she live?

3. What happens to C.J.'s grandfather, why is C.J. named what he is named? What happens to C.J.'s grandfather and then to C.J. and his grandmother?

4. What are the railroad companies doing to the farmers and how do the get it done?

5. What does C.J. find out about Rondal in a letter from him and how does he feel about the information?

6. What does Rondal do on his first day in the mines and how does he feel at the end of the day?

7. What does Rondal think his father refers to when he talks about the snake and where does most of Clabe's earnings go?

8. From Clabe's stories to Rondal how has the family land changed and what does Clabe and his family do on Sundays?

9. Describe how Albion came to stay at Carrie's house?

10. What does Carrie figure out about a typhoid outbreak and what do the mining companies tell her when she tries to do something about it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

There are a number of interesting questions raised by Storming Heaven. Questions that Giardina may have wanted the readers to consider and think through carefully. Discuss the following:

1. What does the term "author agenda" mean?

2. Name one idea/concept you think may have been a part of the author's agenda. Analyze that idea throughout the book and discuss Giardina's probable agenda concerning that idea.

2. Do you think writers who have an agenda for writing should point it out in a preface?

3. How often do you think fiction is written with a clear agenda in mind by the author?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the following:

1. What is a plot? What are the most important elements of a plot and their definition? Do all novels have a plot? Why or why not?

2. Write a brief synopsis of the plot of Storming Heaven, identifying where the various elements of the plot occur (Exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution or denouement). Do you find it difficult to identify the plot? Why or why not? What about the various elements of the plot?

3. Identify the major sub-plots and their elements (They may not contain every element of a major plot). Do the sub-plots add to the main plot? Why or why not. Are the sub-plots interesting in and of themselves? Why or why not.

Essay Topic 3

As the miners march toward Blair Mountain, their number grows; the more they grow, the more they feel certain of their success. This anticipated success leads the striking miners to commit acts that they would not have the strength to perform individually.

1. How do the miners demonstrate the power of a crowd?

2. There are also examples of the power of an individual in the book. What were two of them?

3. Do you think Rondal's reaction to the canceling of the march appropriate? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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