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. Why did Jack work tirelessly on the farm?

2. What does Jack do after their daughter is born?

3. What are Andy's plans?

4. After Mat extends his invitation to Jack, what does Jack do?

5. Why did Jack get frustrated with Will?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Ruth feel about Jack?

2. What part of Jack's memory at the beginning of the novel involves Mat?

3. What was Jack's relationship with his father like?

4. What is the summary of Mat Feltner's conversation with with his wife about Jack coming to live with them?

5. What was Jack like when he was younger?

6. What was Jack's relationship with Ben Feltner?

7. As the book opens, what does Jack remember about mules as he stands on the porch listening to Mat call the cows?

8. What memory does Jack have about a day in church when he noticed someone new?

9. How would Jack feel after his nights off?

10. What happened to Jack's horses and wagon during the storm that occured while he was in town trying to buy flour?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the author's point in writing this novel? Clearly, Wendell Berry was trying to get a message to Americans through Jack's story. Write an essay that explains what you think Berry's point is and whether or not he was effective in making the point.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay on Jack's wishes for Bible readings at his funeral. Mat seems to know what kind of funeral service Jack would have wanted. Although Jack wanted a simple service, Mat mentioned that Jack would have wanted the Psalms from the Bible read during this funeral. Does this surprise you, considering the fact that Jack never really paid attention during church? Why would Jack have wanted a religious funeral when religion did not play a part of his life other than something he did on Sunday mornings? Was a religious service something that the Port Williams people just did because it was the culture at the time, or did Jack really believe in the religion?

Essay Topic 3

One of Jack's memories is of Will Wells, a black man hired by Jack to help work on Jack's expanded farm. It bothers Jack that Will will always be working to help further Jack's economic status and never for his own farm. This is a result of the times. Black men, though not slaves anymore, did not typically have the means to purchase their own land. Write an essay that addresses race as an issue in the novel.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 908 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample