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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 happened two days after Robin’s tenth birthday?

2. What does Brother Luke begin teaching Robin to do in Section 4?

3. Who reads Robin the letter he receives in Section 5?

4. With whom does Brother Luke, Brother Matthews, and Robin share their meal in the rain?

5. What does Robin’s father plan to tell his mother, according to the letter in Section 5?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where does the group sleep the first night of their journey, and why does Robin think this is such an important adventure?

2. Describe Brother Luke’s arrival in Section 1, and Robin’s reaction.

3. What happens when Robin goes fishing, and how does this help him gain upper body strength, and determination?

4. What is expected of Robin, in terms of his future, and why is this at risk?

5. Explain what happened to Robin that makes him require assistance.

6. What does John de Bureford write in his letter to Robin? What does this mean for the young man?

7. Explain how Robin comes to whittle a boat and a cross.

8. Describe why Robin wishes to read and write.

9. Describe Robin’s new friendships in Section 4. What do the boys do together, and how does Robin behave around the young children?

10. Describe Robin’s letter to his father in Section 3. What does it say, and what is the tone?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain what happens to Robin’s parents at the beginning of the novel, and describe their reappearance later in the novel. Do you think his parents were right to leave him alone, with only the servants? Do you think this is common, during the time of the novel? How did Robin feel about his parents’ departure? How does he feel at the end of the novel, when they return?

Essay Topic 2

Food plays an important role in the novel. How does food force Robin into accepting Brother Luke in the beginning of the novel? How does Brother Luke entice Robin to eat as he is preoccupied with whittling? When Brother Luke, Robin, and John all stop to eat after traveling all day, Robin mentions “hunger sauced it better than the finest cook could have done” (pg. 52). What does this mean? What does hunger teach Robin? How is food used to gain Robin a friend in D’Ath? How is food used by John’s mother in the novel? How is it used to celebrate at the end of the novel?

Essay Topic 3

Religion plays a powerful role in the novel for Brother Luke. Explain why his religion is so important. How does he convey his love and loyalty to God? How does he convey to Robin the need to pray, and to be thankful to God for blessings? Why is religion and the role of the monks important in the novel to others in London?

(see the answer keys)

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