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. What does Robin chastise himself for doing - even in joy – in Section 10?

2. What is the relationship between Sir Hugh and Sir Peter?

3. What does Robin eat in Section 6 following his night in the outdoors?

4. Where do Brother Luke, Brother Matthews, and Robin go in Section 7, in order for Robin to have fun?

5. Who comes to the aid of Sir Peter in Section 9?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Robin gain access back into the town in Section 9? How does he physically get back inside the walls?

2. Explain Brother Luke’s response to Robin’s questions of whether or not he will walk. What does Brother Luke say, and how is this important for Robin’s self-esteem?

3. Describe Robin’s plan for his escape to find help for the castle. How will he leave, what will he do if caught, and who will he seek for aid?

4. Describe what Robin sees in the snow on Christmas Eve, coming down the road. What is the significance to Robin?

5. What happens before the end of the day in Section 8? What does that mean for the people of the town? Where are they?

6. Explain how Robin helps his friends escape being robbed. What does he do, and how does it work to help them?

7. Explain why food supplies are so low within the castle in Section 9. What else is low?

8. Explain how Robin comes to be the caretaker of D’Ath.

9. Describe what Robin sees, once the strike on the Welsh has begun, and after its success.

10. What happens when Robin reaches the assistance he needs in Section 9? Who greets him, and where do they go for aid? What plan is put into place for assistance?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Robin’s relationship with his father, from the beginning of the novel, appears to be based on Robin’s respect for his father, and his desire to be like his father. How is this relayed by the author when Robin’s father is not a present character in the novel? How does Robin see his father? What does the letter to his father say about his feelings toward his father? What instances does Robin show awe toward his father’s ability? What does his father’s response at the end of the novel, when he returns home, say about his feelings for his son?

Essay Topic 2

Sounds play an important role in the novel, from the church bells Robin uses to gauge time to the sounds of the monk footfalls outside his door to the role of the harp John-go-in-the-Wynd by the end of the novel. Discuss, in depth, why you think the author used sound so much in the novel. What do the sounds mean to Robin? To John and Brother Luke? What does the author convey by using the sounds Robin hears to set scenes?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,164 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample