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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 is known as the "Paul Revere of the Flood"?

2. Who is described as a man of God who is also the voice of the Cambria Iron Company?

3. What is the name of the Chicago publisher who creates a popular color lithograph of the dam bursting?

4. What is described as by far the greatest horror witnessed by flood victims in Chapter 5?

5. What is the name of the girl who climbs in a cupboard to stay safe from the flood?

Short Essay Questions

1. What reasons does the author suggest for Pitcairn joining the South Fork Hunting and Fishing Club?

2. What happens to a man and two women seen riding a barn roof in Chapter 6?

3. What are the three destructive thrusts made by the wave as described in Chapter 5?

4. How is the use of dynamite described in Chapter 8?

5. How are the Hungarians depicted in Johnstown in Chapter 8?

6. What does William Tice witness near the end of Chapter 5?

7. How are Clara Barton's relief efforts described?

8. Describe what happens to Gertrude Quinn after she hides in a cupboard.

9. How does the author describe the sightseers at the flood site?

10. What is the nature of the journalists' first reports of the flood?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the role of Robert Pitcairn in the book. What was his purpose in the relief efforts?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the author's use of perspective in the book. What methods did he use to tell this story? Was his use of perspective successful?

Essay Topic 3

Examine the structure of the book. What methods did the author use to tell this story? Was the structure used in the book successful?

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This section contains 638 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample